Newsletter

Here are 113 "Newsletter" tips.

If you would like to narrow down the list, click another tag from the list on the right, or enter a search phrase on the right.

April 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - April 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: You Spent HOW Much?!
May is Best Shop Challenge!
NEW! Hidden Gems Directory
The Fastest Way to Save
Short Story Competition Winners!
Best of the Vault: Shopping Tips
Best of the Forum: Show Me the Bargains!
NEW! Savvy Cook Showcase
Penny's Blog: Out of the Ordinary
Homeopathy Corner: Breaking Up is Hard to Do
From Last Month: One Pan Dishes
This Month's Help Request: Spendaholic Husband
Savings Story: The Last Laugh

Hello,

How are you going? I have a confession to make. I'm not getting much work done at the moment. Most of my time is spent keeping an eye on Elora. She is at the stage where she is big enough and fast enough to get herself into trouble - but not smart enough to get herself out of it. I'm looking forward to the time when she understands that when I am putting clips in her hair so that she can see, I am actually doing her a favour. As it is at the moment, she fights me, shakes her head, tries to snatch the clip, pokes her fingers up my nose or turns her whole body into a wiggly pile of squirming jelly so she can escape to the floor and crawl off. It is cute, it is funny, but some mornings I wish we were on the same team. Still, I guess I'm very lucky that the biggest challenge in my day is trying to put hairclips on a reluctant hairy octopus!

Please don't ask me how she ended up in the middle of a frisbee. I don't know. She didn't say.

She is so mischievous, but not as tricky as the winner of our romantic short story competition. The entries were so fantastic that we have given out extra prizes. Thank you to everyone who entered, we had a ball reading them! Although, Elora just didn't seem to get the punchlines.

The best part about spending lots of time with Elora is her thank you grins. They are contagious. It is like when members send in thank you emails. Your letters mean a lot to me and I know that Simple Savings is helping people, that we are all working together towards something special. So thank you for saying thank you!

"I have now been a SS member for nearly a year and love it! Thank you for the many tips on time saving and general lifestyle changes. My family is now aware of turning off lights and get involved in planning our meals. They compete to see who can put together a gourmet meal using whatever is in the cupboard. You have made us more aware of where our money goes and have made me personally accountable for those unnecessary purchases and impulse buys. I check the tips and Forum daily and have started to save and have a goal for each week. Keep up the wonderful support." (Katarina)

"I have had access to the Vault for less than 30 minutes and thanks to one of your finance tips I have already had my interest rate on my credit card reduced by 7% annually for the life of the card, just by making a phone call. I will lose my link to FlyBuys but all I need to do is flash the FlyBuys card when I make a purchase and straight away I regain that reward. Thanks!" (David)

"I fed my family of six on $22.90 this week thanks to your fantastic book. For our tea tonight we had Star Wars Stew. All the children commented that it looked yuck but once it was cooked and dished up they wanted more! They can't wait for Sophie's Lonely Sausage Risotto on Sunday but most of all they are looking forward to McMummy's tomorrow night! Many, many thanks for making my life easier and our meals more cost effective." (Vanessa Howard)

"I subscribed to the free newsletter for a number of years before I gave in and paid for membership. I love the calendar and after using it last year, even without really focusing on the saving aspect, I had the family asking for it this year! Not only that but my husband and older child are getting on board and encouraging me to work on the hints and tips for savings. As a family we are still in baby steps but now we are all working together and I think that is the absolute best!" (Alison)

"I am writing to you about your $21 Challenge book. I just had to say thanks for the inspiration, the wisdom and the cartoons that make me laugh out loud, but mostly for your genuine concern and care for fellow humans (savers) that oozes from every page. You deserve every blessing that comes your way and I hope there are many." (Jane Gibson)

All the best,

Fiona Lippey

PS: We have a brand new monthly competition! Check out our Savvy Cook Showcase for your chance to win a cash prize!

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: You Spent HOW Much?!

Sally took a deep breath and walked into the Savings Group meeting. It was always the same; that familiar feeling of half excitement, half dread. On the one hand, she loved the company and enjoyed listening to everyone share their tips - but on the other? Sally always felt like she couldn't keep up with the others. Hanna in particular was miles ahead; she was always right, always knew the best place to shop. In comparison, Sally felt like she had nothing to offer.

It looked as though today was going to be no different. Hanna breezed in clutching a bulging shopping bag. 'Here we go again,' Sally thought to herself miserably. 'The latest new wonder purchase. Why is it I never seem to be able to find any bargains?' 'I have to share this with you!' Hanna said with a huge smile. 'Now you know how much I love pink,' she giggled. 'Check these out! I picked up FOUR new pink tops for $98, reduced from $250! Aren't they a steal!'

Sally's eyes almost popped out of her head. 'You paid $98 for those? Why didn't you go to Mr Pazook's? They sell them for $5.00 each!' she blurted out. 'Oh heck,' she thought to herself. 'I didn't mean to say that out loud.' Hanna reacted straight away. 'Are you serious? Wow, I've never heard of Mr Pazook's! Where is it? You'll have to show me! Thanks, Sal!' Sally beamed back at her. Wow! Maybe she wasn't such a bad bargain hunter after all! She couldn't wait to get home to tell Pete!

2. May is Best Shop Challenge!

Sally discovered a real 'hidden gem' in Mr Pazook's shop. Hidden gems are shops that save you time and money every time you go there but the specials are rarely advertised. They are the 'best shops' in your area and this month we want you to go looking for them.

There are two ways to find the best shops in your area. There is an easy way and a hard way. The easy way is to ask around. So start your quest by asking your frugal friends where they shop. They will know the best places and will be happy to help - but they will only share their knowledge if you ask them. Note - it is important to make sure the people you ask are actually frugal. Asking your spendthrift friends to recommend cheap places to shop just doesn't work!

This is the easy way; if this fails, you will have to do it the hard way. Start with the phone directory. Work out all the shops in your area that sell the goods you want, then put on your Simple Savings hat (that's a metaphorical hat, not a real one), get in the car and check out each shop in person. Chat to the staff. Check out the goods, check out the prices and work out which has the best value.

This is how I found our 'hidden gem' of a butcher. When we first moved to Buderim, I missed my old butcher (www.ccmeats.com.au) and tried to find somewhere locally that could match him for quality and price. Every shop I tried was either phenomenally expensive or the meat was just yuck. Then, after six months of looking, I discovered that Buderim Meat Hall does great deals if you buy in bulk. You just have to know to ask. At last we had a reliable source of high quality, cheap and delicious meat.

Although it took a little while to unearth my hidden gem, once I found this shop I was able to save a huge amount of time and money. I no longer had to chase from store to store or waste precious brain space following the specials trail. I had put in the leg work and we get to save $1500 a year on meat. No further effort needed.

This single shop lowered my meat bill by $1500 a year and that is just one shop. This is why it is so important for you to hunt out the best shops. The rewards are huge! Once you have worked out the best places to buy meat, vegies, clothes, shoes, takeaway (yes, I am still a sucker for takeaway once a month) and toys, the savings really add up.

Since moving to Buderim three years ago, I have found that the best place to buy new kids' clothes is at Rivers (www.rivers.com.au) half price sale. The best place to get kids' second hand clothes is our school fete. Kids' shoes are tricky - I'm still trying to work that one out. The best place to buy my groceries is ALDI and the corner shop. The two best places to buy fruit and vegies are at the Fishermans Road markets and Erbachers. The place to get milk is Maleny Dairies (www.malenydairies.com). The best place to buy Thai is Thai Seasons (http://www.menufeast.com.au/info/16387/thai-seasons/mooloolaba/). The best place to get fish and chips is the Mooloolah River Fisheries (http://www.mooloolahfish.com.au/retail.htm). While they may not be the cheapest, the food is divine and they have an upstairs area so you can enjoy your freshly cooked fish and chips without worrying about the kids running onto the road.

These are my hidden gems. What are yours? Have you worked out the best places to shop in your area? If not, do it now. Stop wasting your money and make sure you are getting a good deal. You will learn more about your own district as you hunt for the best shops. Who has the best bargains? Which shop has the most helpful staff? Which shops make the biggest difference to your food bill? Just like with my butcher, finding the best deals might take a little time to find the best shops in your area but be patient and keep searching. Once you find your hidden gems, they will save you a lot of money for years to come. And, when you do find them, be sure to enter them in our new 'Hidden Gems' directory!

3. NEW! Hidden Gems Directory

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to find the best prices where you live. We want the great shops in your area to get the credit and customers they deserve. So we are creating a 'Hidden Gems' directory, which will be available on the Simple Savings website.

For as long as we can remember, members have been sharing their favourite 'hidden gems' in the Savings Forum but we thought it was about time we made it official and created a list of little known places that can help EVERYONE save money. With your help, the Hidden Gems directory will become the fastest and easiest place to source the best prices and service in your region. If we all share our knowledge, we will all succeed in making some fantastic savings.

To give you an idea of how it will look, here is a snapshot of how my favourite hidden gem, Buderim Meat Hall will go in the directory:

Region: Sunshine Coast

Category: Shop

Products/Services: Meat

Name: Buderim Meat Hall

Location: Mill Rd, Buderim, QLD 4556

Phone: (07) 5445 1411

Website: None

Customer service rating: 5 out of 5

Price: 5 out of 5

Quality: 5 out of 5

How to get the discount: Buderim Meat Hall do great deals if you buy a forequarter, a box of chicken, a whole lamb and so on. The owner is Ian and you will need to ask him for bulk meat. There are no signs and at first glance the shop seems expensive. You also have to fit into his schedule. For example, the first time I asked him for a hind quarter, he said 'sure, as long as you can wait a week'. This is because he likes to hang the meat for a week so it tastes just right.

Information about the shop: The meat is very high quality. The beef is often his own. He is in the middle of getting his farm certified organic, but is in the seven year waiting period.

You see how it works? This is going to be fantastic! Now it's your turn. What is your favourite hidden gem? What do they sell? Where are they? Adding your best shops to the Hidden Gem directory is easy. We have made a page for you to fill in here.

To make the directory work, we all need to work together. Simple Savings members are much smarter than the average shopper. We're a lot fussier too! So please ensure that you submit only the really good shops to the directory. Shops that other Simple Savers will love and think you are a champion for telling them about it. With your support, these 'hidden gems' will be hidden no more!

4. The Fastest Way to Save

I'm really excited about the Hidden Gems directory. It's going to be a fantastic addition to our new-look site. If you haven't visited the new sections of the Vault lately, go and check it out, right now! Matt and Sean, our technical whizzes, have made some fantastic changes and members have been having a ball with all the new whistles and bells! If you're serious about saving money fast, look no further than the Vault. From the moment you join, you get access to:

Thousands of tips you can use straight away. The Savings Vault is the real gem of the Simple Savings website. It is massive. It gets bigger every week and there is always something new going on. The Vault has just had a revamp and members are loving the new format. If you haven't seen it yet, you can get a sneak peek by logging into the Vault and clicking on the 'New Vault' link in the top left corner. The new layout makes it easier and faster than ever before to learn how to save money on the exact thing you want, whenever you want it. Another brand new feature enables you to bookmark the tips you like for easy reference whenever you need them. Just pick a tip to get started!

Heaps of fun! Being a Vault member has never been more enjoyable or interactive. Members now have their very own area where they can create their own savings blogs to share with other members. They make fantastic reading! Follow Sarah (http://new.simplesavings.com.au/blog/Sarahs-Simple-Savings/) as she undertakes her first $21 Challenge, the crafty 'Chatterbox' (http://new.simplesavings.com.au/blog/the-everyday-chatter-of-chatterbox/) as she endeavours to make a year's worth of beautiful gifts and single mum Shelley (http://new.simplesavings.com.au/blog/Getting-out-of-debt/), who at 21 is battling more than her fair share of debt as she brings up her gorgeous baby boy. These and many more make inspiring and heart-warming reading. They're also fantastic places to pick up new tips and frugal recipes!

More savvy shoppers than you can possibly imagine! The Forum is just about to be updated into the new site. The Forum is the hub of the Simple Savings community and our information super highway! We have many amazing, clever members who have been helping each other succeed for a long time. No matter what the question is, you will find the answer here - and make a whole heap of new friends in the process!

Vault members are constantly working together to support, encourage and help each other. The best way to save money in the shortest period of time is to become a Vault member and soak up everyone else's knowledge. We offer a 365 day 'no questions asked' money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Take the plunge and start saving today!

5. Short Story Competition Winners!

Whoever said saving money wasn't romantic? We have had an absolute ball reading your short story entries! Originally we were only going to have one winner, but there were so many fantastic stories to choose from that we decided to award one major winner and four runner-up prizes. You are all so clever!

The winner of the major cash prize of $300 is Jill Shepherd for her story 'Two for the Price of One'.

Two for the Price of One

By Jill Shepherd

Derek paced nervously along the strip of pavement in front of the busy cafes. It was the most popular place to come for lunch in town, a large selection of food, and often a busker or two providing entertainment to those who sat at the outside tables.

He had checked the newspaper that morning, and found a two-for-one meal deal at the Italian cafe he was now passing the front of. He paused to read the menu for the fifth time as he searched the sea of faces coming and going around him. All of a sudden he saw her; the mass of curly blond hair helping her to stand out from the crowd as she headed right towards him. Self-consciously Derek straightened his tie and brushed imaginary dust off his jacket as he moved inside the cafe and joined the long queue.

He had admired her from afar, noticing her on many occasions at lunch times at this strip of cafes. She often seemed to have vouchers for meal deals, and he saw she would ask other lone females, if they would like to share the cost of their meals. He noticed she never approached a man, which was probably very sensible, but one day, he happened to be in the queue behind her when the lady she asked had her own voucher. So he had stepped in to offer to share the cost with her. He remembered the nervous look on her face at his suggestion, but she had accepted his offer. Since then, they had often smiled and greeted each other, and once more last week he had been in the right place at the right time, and they had shared the cost of their lunches again with the voucher she had. They had sat together, and over the course of their short lunch, Derek had become smitten. He had been looking out for her ever since, and was trying to work up the courage to ask her out.

He turned around as she joined the queue behind him.

'Hello again Rachel,' he said brightly, trying to sound calm and casual.

'Oh, hello,' she replied, furrowing her brows slightly as she looked more closely at his face, trying to place him.

'It's Derek, we've shared our lunch costs a couple of times with vouchers,' he explained, feeling more uncertain now that she didn't seem to remember him. Perhaps he had read the signals wrong and she wasn't interested in him.

At the mention of his name, her eyes seemed to brighten, then her eyes flicked down to his wrist and rested upon his distinctive gold Rolex watch.

'Oh, Derek, yes! How are you?' she replied, a smile breaking out on her face now she seemed to remember who he was.

'I have a two-for-one voucher today. Shall we?' he asked indicating that they had reached the front of the queue and it was their turn to order.

'Thank you, Derek!'

They ordered and collected bowls of steaming pasta with sauce; then passed their meal chatting amicably. Derek was struck by how much more outgoing Rachel was than he remembered. But one thing he had remembered perfectly was her beautiful face with soft blue eyes.

Much too soon, they both finished eating and the waitress came to take their empty dishes away. It's now or never, Derek thought, wiping his mouth just one more time with his napkin, trying to calm his nerves.

'Rachel?' he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

'Yes, Derek?' she replied, with that same wonderful smile

'Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?'

'You know, Derek, I think that would be very nice indeed,' Rachel replied. She reached into her bag for a pen, and grabbed an unused napkin from the edge of the table.

'Why don't you come and pick me up after work?' she said as she wrote something down, handing it over the table to him. 'Around six o'clock?'

'Great! I'll be there,' Derek replied, reading the name of a small second-hand bookshop not far from his work. 'I'll see you this evening.'

Then Rachel picked up her bag and with one last smile she left the restaurant, leaving Derek grinning from ear to ear, clutching the napkin.

At five to six that evening, Derek was standing outside the bookshop, once again full of nerves as he reached for the door handle. As he pushed open the door a bell rang, and Derek saw Rachel behind the counter. She looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back, but faltered when she turned and shouted, 'Rachel, there's someone here to see you.'

Derek's hand left the door, and it slammed shut behind him with a crash. 'But you're...' he managed to stutter, before, out of the corner of his eye he caught a movement and turned to see... Rachel! Confused, Derek looked between the two girls. Twins!

'I'm sorry, Derek' said the girl behind the counter, 'I'm Jennifer, Rachel's sister. As soon as you said your name today, and I checked you were wearing that distinctive gold watch, I knew you were the man she's been talking non-stop about for the past two weeks. I should have told you then, but I must admit I wanted to know more about the man my sister is so interested in.'

Derek nodded, 'That's ok.' Then he turned back to Rachel, 'So would you like to come to dinner with me tonight? Since I haven't exactly asked you yet?' he said, holding his breath as he waited for her response.

Rachel smiled warmly, 'I'd love to,' she replied, but when she looked at her sister, Derek could see she was a little nervous.

'Jennifer can come too if you like,' Derek said generously.

'Oh no you don't!' Jennifer protested laughing. You don't get two for the price of one this time! I'm sure you two will get along just fine without me!'

Well done Jill!

Runner up prizes of $50 have also been awarded to the following members:

Lynley Tulloch for 'Pearl'
Sarah P for 'Shameful Love'
Kelly Heaton for 'Love and Home-Made Compost are Free'
Brenda Howson for 'Secret in the City'

Congratulations! You can view all five top entries here.

6. Best of the Vault: Shopping Tips

You can save hundreds of dollars a year by avoiding marketing ploys and knowing when and where to shop. Here are some great tips from the Savings Vault to help inspire your next shopping journey!

Be bold and ask for discount

I have found that people become embarrassed about asking for discounts when there are other people around in fear that the salesman will say 'No'. If you can get past this fear, you can get many bargains from almost anywhere. I have had bargains reduced by 30-40% due to being bold and asking directly. This is what you can get for your money when what you want is not cheap to start with.

Contributed by: Caron Jolleys

Picking up small bargains on sale

It's a good idea to look for small bargains for children's gifts, such as books for $2.95 from Kmart, little toys and 'girlie' stuff, and store them in a present box.

This year my youngest son was invited to about six birthday parties all within two months. With my hand-made cards and paper and present box, I didn't need to rush around trying to find presents or cards. I already had them!

Contributed by: Jo-ann Green

Wholesale bargains, Adelaide

I can recommend a great outlet for bargains in Adelaide. Gaganis is located at 9-13 Bacon Street, Hindmarsh. They are wholesalers but the public can shop there too at the same prices. They stock all things Italian; pasta, sauces, beans, herbs, dried onion (my favourite), olive oil, kitchen ware and much more. It is so cheap to stock up there! You can also buy their products in supermarkets, but it is cheaper still to buy from them direct.

Contributed by: Annabel Saunders

More bargains at West End, Brisbane

If you can't make it out to DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) in Brisbane, don't panic - there are many clearance shops at West End! You can find great bargains here on art supplies (www.artshed.com.au), save on baked goods at the Vietnamese bakeries and browse the clothing shops around Montague Road. Then there is Reverse Garbage (www.reversegarbage.com.au) which recycles various materials - you'll be amazed what you can find!

Contributed by: Em

Fancy items from bargain stores

I am a big fan of the classical country style of decorating. I often find myself shopping at end of season sales in the big department stores, or at the factory second shops, or even the 'bargain' stores like the Warehouse and Clints. Surprisingly, GO-LO have exactly the same items that trendy country decorating boutiques have for only a couple of dollars.

Contributed by: Sara Dias

Shop for quality second hand bargains

We have saved heaps on our fishing gear by taking the time to shop around for good second hand fishing gear and watching out for the classified ads in newspapers. We have also found high quality rods, reels, lures and other items of fishing gear at low prices at garage sales. Some people get all enthusiastic about fishing and buy a lot of expensive gear, then for whatever reason, their enthusiasm wanes and they end up getting rid of it. This is when you can often get the bargains!

Contributed by: Rob Tonge

Cheap shops on the Gold Coast

On the Gold Coast you can try Salvation Army, St Vincents, Animal Welfare League, Daffodil Shops and Lifeline. Most of the op shops seem to be along the Gold Coast Hwy. Last time I checked there were four within walking distance of the Palm Beach CBD and also half a dozen within walking distance of the Southport CBD. Also in Southport, one can walk to stores such as The Warehouse, Stacks, and Crazy Clarks within the CBD. In Ferry Rd, Southport, there are quite a few second hand furniture stores grouped together, and I have found lots of bargain items in these over the years. Another great spot for finding second hand furniture and knick-knacks is the section of the Gold Coast Hwy between Miami and Burleigh - there are about four large shops in a short section of highway. There is also a huge discount clothing shop in the middle of Southport in the Australia Fair Shopping Centre, where I noticed they have many of their items for only $5.00. As you can tell, Southport is my favourite bargain hunting suburb on the Gold Coast.

Contributed by: Jill Wiseman

Be persistent when asking for a discount

Try shopping around for discounts by 'playing' shops off against one another.

When I needed to buy a bike helmet for my son, I mentioned that a friend recommended that I go to a shop where she had bought the same one for $90. After relating the story four times, I got the helmet for $95 instead of $149.

I always ask for a discounted price, and usually save between $10 and $50 which is a considerable saving. Retailers prefer you to spend at their shop, not others.

Contributed by: Annette Damon

Best bargains not always at $2 shops

For bargain hunters who like to shop at $2 or similar discount shops, I have found that they do not always have the best price. As an example, I purchased a 40ml brand name men's roll-on deodorant for $2.00, only to find that I could have bought it in a 75ml bottle in Woolworth's for $2.11! Just goes to show, it doesn't pay to assume the 'cheap' shops are naturally the cheapest!

Contributed by: Karen Webb

7. Best of the Forum: Show Me the Bargains!

When you ask a question in the Savings Forum, you can always be guaranteed of an honest reply! In these threads, our members share some of their favourite bargains and shopping around tips. No matter what you're looking to buy, they'll find a way to help you get it for less!

Sharing - bargains, specials, free, very cheap...

Where can you find the best specials this week? Look no further than this thread!
read more...

What bargains have you bought (scored) lately?

Find hidden gems and much more in this busy discussion!
read more...

Current meat prices

Where's the best place to buy meat? How do you know if you're getting a good deal or not? Our clever members answer these questions and more here.
read more...

Unit pricing - tricks the stores play

Would you pay over $14 for a kilo of cereal? It's easy to get sucked in by sneaky unit pricing in stores. This thread exposes some of the tricks stores use to make shoppers think they are getting a good deal - and how you can avoid getting a bad one.
read more...

It pays to shop around

Shopping around for the best price is one of the most basic rules when it comes to saving money - but is it really worth the effort? You betcha!
read more...

Help me choose a new laptop

Buying a new computer can be a nerve-wracking experience. Not wanting to make an expensive mistake, Doofybear asks the Forum members to share their advice and experiences. Smart thinking!
read more...

8. NEW! Savvy Cook Showcase

At Simple Savings we are constantly blown away by how clever and creative our members are in the kitchen. They are experts at cooking from scratch, cooking in bulk and making a teensy amount of food go a long way. Not only that, their recipes are lip smacking good! We thought it was about time we showcased some of these wonderful frugal cooks. Keep reading - the next one could be you!

This month's star savvy cook is Kate Andrew, who could be described as a bit of a hidden gem herself! She's been part of the Simple Savings team for some time but we thought it was high time we introduced her properly. Kate designed the $21 Challenge book cover and took care of the book layout. She has also done the calendar year in and out, as well as the downloadables. However, she's not just an amazing designer. Kate is also a mother of three, a super smart shopper and, as we discovered when writing the $21 Challenge book - a fantastic cook!

Those of you with a copy of the $21 Challenge book will have already seen some of Kate's brilliant recipes. They're not just delicious; they're super practical for busy mums. This recipe comes from the $21 Challenge book and is a huge favourite with Penny's family. Penny loves it because it makes a little mince go a long way but most of all she loves it because it's an ingenious way to get her kids to eat tons of vegetables. It doesn't matter which vegies she puts in, they always wolf it down. Once Penny put in so much silverbeet, she turned the mixture bright green - and the kids STILL loved it! Give it a go - we're sure you'll love it too!

Kate's Savoury Mince with Hidden Vegetables

Savoury mince is a fantastic family meal and so versatile! Use it for spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne, pies, nachos, tortillas, tacos - it's even fantastic on toast or in toasted sandwiches for an easy, filling snack.

The key to perfecting this mince is to ensure your vegetables are chopped super-fine (we recommend using a food processor or blender) and that it is cooked for a long time if possible to maximise the flavours. Serves 4-6.

1 tbsp oil
500g mince
1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 medium zucchini, roughly chopped
½ - ¾ cup roughly chopped, mixed vegetables (the more variety the better, e.g. broccoli, mushroom, cauliflower, spinach, celery, cabbage, even a little pumpkin or sweet potato)
1 - 2 cloves garlic
½ beef stock cube
½ cup red wine (optional)
1 jar tomato pasta sauce (or one 400g tin diced tomatoes + one tbsp tomato paste)
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ - 1 tsp dried oregano
½ - 1 tsp dried basil (or two fresh sprigs in puree)
1 bay leaf
Fresh parsley if you have it

Pop all your vegetables in a food processor or blender and process or puree until super fine. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium high heat and brown the mince. Add the pureed uncooked vegetables to the pan with your meat. Add any remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring regularly.

Tip:If you are planning to cook your mince quickly (30 minutes), it is best to cook your pureed vegetables a little before adding to the pan to strengthen the flavour. Remember, mince always has a richer flavour the next day, so don't be afraid to cook it the day before you want to use it!

You can find more of Kate's ingenious recipes in The $21 Challenge book. They are all delicious and so versatile. We have been getting fantastic feedback about them from readers! Look out for:

Kate's Tomato Casserole - Page 138
Kate's Rich Gravy Casserole Base - Page 140
Kate's Coconut Casserole Base - Page 204

If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one from us here. (*nudge nudge, wink wink*)

New Monthly Competition! Send in Your Recipes!

Now it's your turn! Do you have a favourite frugal recipe that you would like to share? Send them in to us, with an accompanying photo and you could be featured in our Savvy Cook Showcase! We will be giving away a cash prize each month for the best two recipes - $100 for Vault members and $50 for non-Vault members.

We can't wait to receive all your yummy recipes! Send them in to us here.

9. Penny's Blog: Out of the Ordinary

Apr 24, 2010

I've just returned from a very productive shopping trip! Thames is one of my favourite towns. It's full of quaint little shops where you can browse to your heart's content, particularly at the bottom end of Pollen Street, which I believe is called Grahamstown. It's also the home of my favourite op shop, the Salvation Army Family Store! I don't get the opportunity to go there half as much as I'd like, so couldn't resist ducking in there. The racks are always full to bursting and you never know what you'll find. It probably sounds a bit corny but I love the fact that there's just such an air of warmth and caring in the shop. The shoppers are in there to get a bargain and the staff are there to help them get one. I tell you what, most other clothing stores could take a few lessons from these ladies in shop layout. Everything is clearly labelled and so easy to find. I particularly like the section against the far wall, which bears a large sign that says 'OUT OF THE ORDINARY'. I'm dying to know what things are housed there but haven't been game enough to look yet!

I was just about to leave the store when something jumped out at me. A straight, black skirt in immaculate condition and in my size! You wouldn't believe how many shops I have scoured for one of these over the past few months, only to be told you can't buy them any more because apparently they are 'out of date'. Not being a dedicated follower of fashion, I snapped it up regardless and headed for the counter, where I was charged the princely sum of $4.00. I was chuffed to bits with my bargain and couldn't believe it when the lady apologised that she had to charge me full price as it wasn't a 50% off day! When I think how much I would have been prepared to pay in the high street stores just to get my hands on a skirt like this, I had to chuckle. I can't wait for my next appointment in Thames so I can go back and check out the jeans!

I was sharing my shopping success with Noel that evening and the conversation got around to our favourite shops. Noel would never get his hair cut anywhere else but at Trevor Roberts' barber shop in Huntly. He's been there as long as we (or anyone else) can remember and as soon as you walk through the door it's like going back in time. Make no mistake, this is a serious bloke's shop. The walls are festooned with everything from Tottenham Hotspur soccer memorabilia to stuffed ducks, pheasants and marlin. The only reading material you'll find are fishing and hunting magazines, along with National Geographic. There's a big stack of magazines to choose from, which is just as well as you can often be in for a long wait. With Trev, there's no such thing as appointments. You just walk in, and sit and wait your turn. People are happy to wait as long as it takes, because not only do they get the cheapest haircuts in town, they just like being there. Trevor refuses to rush, he'll cut your hair when he's good and ready. In the meantime, customers just sit and soak up the atmosphere - and often, watch the entertainment.

While you wait, you can be treated to any number of visits from some of the 'old fellas' in the town. More often than not they have no intention of getting a haircut, they've simply popped in for some good natured banter with Trev, who is always pleased to see everyone and gives back as good as he gets. I kid you not, Compo, Foggy and Clegg from Last of the Summer Wine would be completely at home here. All the furnishings are old and traditional, from a bygone era and unlike pretty much every other hairdresser I've seen in the last 30 years, Trevor still insists on wearing a white coat. Young or old, everyone loves getting a haircut from Trevor. It's his low prices and his obvious love of his work that keeps them coming back.

Another favourite store of ours is West's Trading, in Te Kauwhata, which has been owned for years by Maurice and Eileen West. You could call Maurice our local answer to Arkwright from Open All Hours (although he'd probably kill me for saying so!). The shop front is deceptive and nobody can believe on their first visit how far back the enormous shop extends. Talk about an Aladdin's cave! They just don't make shops like this any more. No matter what you need, you can find it at West's. A new bed, a wedding present, garden hose, framed art, tap washers, decorative soaps, fishing rods, duck decoys, crayfish pots, thermal underwear - this treasure trove has got it and much, much more. It's like The Warehouse - before The Warehouse was ever invented! The difference is that West's products are always top quality. They pride themselves on supplying their customers with the best and if on the very rare occasion they don't have what you're looking for, they'll get it in for you. Day in and day out, you can find the pair of them behind the counter, chatting to customers about everything from the weather, to fishing or the latest rugby score. Visitors from outside the area are always gobsmacked at their range and prices and never leave empty handed. 'Who would have known?' they say.

And then of course there's our favourite bookshop, which you may have heard me mention before. Browsers in Hamilton - now that's what I call a REAL bookshop! Think 'Black Books' without Dylan Moran. Wall to wall books at teensy prices. You could spend the whole day in there and not buy a thing and nobody would care. It smells of books. The people there love books. I adore the music, the ambience, the fact they stay open late at night so people can come in and browse at their heart's content. What Noel and I realised as we talked, that all of our favourite stores are owner-operated. Not big names or global chains but one-offs and totally unique. Let's face it, there aren't many shops like that out there any more are there? Which is sad but all the time people like Trevor Roberts, the Wests and Browsers continue to give a stuff about their products, their prices and their customers, we shall continue to support them wholeheartedly. And of course the Salvation Army Family Store and every other place who proudly continues to sell straight black skirts without caring if they're out of date! Hurrah!

April 2010

7th - Eyes wide shut

12th - The School of Ken

19th - Try and try again

27th - Under the influence

10. Homeopathy Corner: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

It would be wonderful if we all sailed through relationships and lived happily ever after. Unfortunately almost everyone is affected by a relationship ending at some time or another. Everyone deals with heartbreak differently and it is common to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. The good news is, homeopathic remedies can actually help you through this painful time. If the tears won't stop, or you find yourself unable to face others - or you can't rid yourself of the urge to throw a vase at your ex - there is a remedy that will help you get back on an even keel! Fran Sheffield discusses how homeopathy can heal the heartache in this article:

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/homeopathic-remedies-for-breakups/

11. From Last Month: One Pan Dishes

Last month Emma asked:

"I need meals that are easy for the nights I'm working, preferably cooked in the one pot or pan. Can anyone share recipes for one pan dishes for the oven? I find dishes like lasagne, scalloped potatoes and shepherds pie easy but would really like more variety."

One pan dishes can be a saviour when you don't have a lot of time or energy. Thank you everyone for your recipes. We will be adding them all to a new category in the Savings Vault for One Pot Meals.

Bake a dinner cake

This variation of the much loved zucchini slice is brilliant. It freezes well, it's flavoursome and relatively healthy! My children call it 'dinner cake'!

Ingredients:

5 eggs
1 cup self raising flour, sifted
375g zucchini, grated
1 large onion, finely chopped
200g rindless bacon, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
60ml vegetable oil

Method:

Preheat your oven to 170C. Grease and line a 30cm x 20cm lamington pan. Beat your eggs in a large bowl, then add the flour, beat until smooth, then add zucchini, onion, bacon, cheese and oil. Mix it all up. Then pour it into your greased pan and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Serves 15!

Contributed by: Amanda Reynolds-Smith

Flexible fish pie

This is a recipe you can play around with, but the basics are:

In a medium size casserole dish, lightly mix together a large tin of tuna or salmon, or the equivalent weight in smoked cod, along with two cups of white sauce, a chopped onion and a cup of peas. Top with mashed potato, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Cook at 180C for around half an hour.

Here's where the flexibility comes in. You can add any other vegetables you like to the mix, swap the fish for cooked chicken, or include hard boiled eggs. This is a popular dish in our household and the perfect recipe for using things you probably have in your pantry.

Contributed by: Catherine Adler

Family favourite vegetable bake

My kids - and my husband - love this healthy vegetable bake! First up, make this cheese sauce.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 onion, finely diced,
1/2 tsp garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp plain flour
1 cup cream
1/2 cup grated cheese.

Method:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan in the order listed above. Combine and stir until thick. Then grab whatever vegetables you have in the fridge, chop them up and place them in an oven-proof dish. Cover in cheese sauce and sprinkle a little grated cheese on top. Cook for five minutes or until the cheese on top melts. This dish is also great when re-heated the next day.

Contributed by: Katherine Pierson

Always popular chicken casserole

You can't go past a chicken casserole when it comes to one-pot cooking, and this traditional recipe is sure to become a family favourite.

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces
Chopped onion
Other vegies
Tin of diced pineapple (remove tin first)
Herbs
Cornflour

Method:

In a casserole dish, place as many chicken pieces as you need, along with some chopped onion and other vegetables such as carrot, capsicum and mushrooms Throw in a tin of diced pineapple, including the juice, plus herbs and spices to taste e.g. chilli, paprika or thyme.

Cook at 180C for about an hour or in a slow cooker on low setting for at least six hours. You may want to thicken the juices towards the end with a little cornflour to make a nice gravy. You could also use boneless chicken thighs, but the cooking time will be much less. This is delicious served on mash or rice.

Contributed by: Catherine Adler

Health packed sprout omelette

This omelette recipe is a one-pan dish but for the stove, not the oven!

Ingredients:

1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 cup Mung bean sprouts
2 tbsp chopped shallots
1/2 cup grated cheese
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Combine all your ingredients in a bowl then pour into a frypan, covering the whole base. Cook then flip omelette to cook the other side, or put under griller. Serve with toast and slices of tomato on the side.

Contributed by: Rhonda Toope

Nan's chow mein

This version of chow mein came from my nan and was popular with my cousins and I as kids, and continues to be popular with our spouses and kids now that we're grown. The following quantities make four good sized servings.

Ingredients:

500g minced meat, particularly good with beef or a combo of beef and pork
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cabbage, shredded
1-2 carrots, grated
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
1dsp curry powder, or to taste
1 packet chicken noodle soup
Good splash Worcestershire sauce

Method:

Brown the mince and onion in a small amount of oil or water. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Add enough water to come about one third of the way up the pan; simmer with lid on until the vegetables are cooked through, stirring regularly to ensure nothing sticks. Do not allow to boil dry!

If you don't have chicken noodle soup, just use chicken stock powder. In the past, I have also added a packet of fried noodles near the end of cooking time for extra texture. You can also add whatever vegetables your family like - spring onions and green beans work particularly well.

This recipe doesn't freeze but it does reheat well for a hearty lunch the next day.

Contributed by: Melanie Linder

Easy cheesy pie

This yummy one dish meal now replaces our takeaway night. Not only do the kids love it but it saves us around $30 a week. Cheesy pie is a quick, easy and no-mess treat, so no more big kitchen clean ups when you're already tired. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry
3/4 cup grated cheese
200g bacon, diced
Small handful of chives
6-8 eggs

Method:

Line a pie dish with pastry. Sprinkle half the cheese and half the bacon into the dish, top with chives. Crack eggs into the dish and pierce the yolks, then add the last of the bacon and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 200C for about 20 minutes or until the eggs are cooked.

Contributed by: Yvonne Lane

After dinner delight

It's technically not a dinner, but it's mouth-watering all the same! Chocolate fondant puddings are really simple and taste delicious!

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
60g butter, chopped
1 egg

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pour into greased ramekins and bake for 20 minutes at 180C. Serve with cream or ice cream! This is great pick-me-up after a bad day but it's also cheap and quick!

Contributed by: Hayley Webb

12. This Month's Help Request: Spendaholic Husband

This month Cathy H asks:

"My husband is turning 50 this year and I am 42. I am a stay at home mum while my husband is the wage earner. Unfortunately he is a spendaholic. He cannot be bothered to inconvenience himself to save a few dollars. Catching a taxi is more convenient than a train and he will buy anything he wants without another thought. Money is tight at the moment and I am concerned as we are going heavily into debt. He is in control of the money as he earns it. I have no knowledge of exactly what he earns and where the money is distributed because he is a business owner.

"I am a great believer in 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves' but he just shrugs it off and keeps spending. He believes that one day he will 'strike it rich' and all the debts will disappear. We have four children aged from 10 years to nine months. We are locked up so tight financially that we cannot borrow a cent. He is not getting any younger and I am really scared that one day he will die and leave me with a massive debt and the costs of raising the kids. We have limited super - certainly not enough - and no other investments. Has anyone got any suggestions to try and make him change his ways?"

If you have a spendaholic remedy we would love to hear it and so would Cathy! Please send your helpful suggestions and support here.

13. Savings Story: The Last Laugh

I have been receiving your newsletter for some time now and used your tips and advice to reduce my food bill dramatically but I didn't think I could do any more to save money. Until I did the $21 Challenge!

My husband reluctantly gave me copy of the book for Christmas. I say reluctantly because he and my daughter were convinced they were going to starve, as $21 for a week's supply of food was not possible. To quote my daughter 'I am too young to starve to death! $21 wouldn't give us enough food for two days, let alone a week!' In an attempt to try and derail my attempt at the Challenge, they sought support from immediate family members, all of whom agreed it could not be done and laughed at me for even wanting to try it. However, I was not about to be deterred! I continued full steam ahead on my mission, now even more motivated than ever to prove to those who laughed at me that it could be done.

Fast forward to the last week of January 2010 - my $21 Challenge week.

Fridge, freezer and pantry underwent the obligatory stocktake to analyse what was on hand, a menu for the week was drawn up and a shopping list was created to buy those items missing. To prove only $21 would be spent on the week the family accompanied me shopping. This is a feat in itself, as any other time I could never bribe them to come grocery shopping! To my delight the grand total came to $19.30. You should have seen the looks on their faces! Priceless. Their only comment? 'We haven't eaten anything yet'.

Still, the week came and went without incident. My daughter, to her surprise, did not starve and my husband commented on the variety of food and in fact how much better we had eaten. Total money saved for the week $180! My hubby apologised for doubting me and congratulated me on continuing with the Challenge, given the obstacles he and the others had put in the way.

As for my laughing family members, they're now begging to borrow the book so they can do the Challenge themselves. Guess I had the last laugh!

Contributed by: Tracey Grobbelaar

April 2012 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - April 2012

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: World's Greatest Mum
May is Toycott month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Retail Therapy?
Best of the Vault: Shiny, New Things
Cooking with Mimi: Family Treat Night
Penny's Blog: You Can't Take it With You
Lin's Garden Diary: Bugging Out!
Homeopathy Corner: Big Savings
From Last Month: Kids' Clothes for Grown Ups?
This Month's Help Request: Where Do I Start?
Savings Story: Major Savings, Freedom, Freedom!
Goodbye, Goodbye...

Hello,

How are you going? It has been an interesting month in Simple Savings land. Something very strange indeed happened. Simple Savings members actually REQUESTED we put up our prices. Yes, it is true! So this is what we are going to do. We are going to increase the price to renew your Simple Savings Vault membership from $17 to $21 per year on the 30th of May. (The price of new memberships is still $47. It will not change.) However, we understand not every member wants their renewal fee to go up. So we are giving everyone the option to renew early for up to five years at the lower price of $17 until the 30th May.

If you would like to renew early, click here.

We have received some wonderful letters this month. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to write in. We love to hear of your success!

"I undertook the $21 Challenge two weeks ago and I am proud to say I was successful in my endeavour. I purchased broccoli, oranges, apples, milk, cheese and eggs for a grand total of $20.85. I normally spend $300 a week on groceries, so this was a huge saving for me and has helped me to think how to use what is in the pantry and replace ingredients in recipes for ones I already have! Thank you Simple Savings." (Heidi)

"I felt the need this morning to share with you how appreciative I am of this website, and in particular, the Forum. As I take stock of all the information I have got out of it, I realise that this site has been like a wise family member to me. I come on here for everything. It's my first port of call and I usually don't have to search anywhere else.
Thank you so much for all that this site has given me." (Alison)

"Just wanted to let you know I finally did the $21 Challenge last week and I finished the week with $3.00 to spare! We ate really well all week. The only items I had to buy were onions, mushrooms, a piece of pumpkin, a small amount of cheese and some fish. I feel really proud that I've finally done this and this week one of my work colleagues has been inspired to give it a go too!" (Linda James)

Thank you to everyone for their kind words this month. I really appreciate it.

All the best,
Fiona

PS. If you want to renew early for less money. Click here.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: World's Greatest Mum

Sally couldn't help smiling as she got into her car. Today was going to be great! 'Toys R Fab' was having a massive sale and she was determined to be first in line. There was only one thing Sally loved more than buying new things for herself and that was buying new things for her kids - and today she could buy as much as she liked! She could picture the scene already this Christmas. 'My kids are going to think I'm the best mum in the world!' she thought to herself happily.

'Now promise me you won't go overboard,' Pete had told her that morning. 'You don't have to buy something just because it's on special you know'. 'Of course not!' Sally replied, rather miffed. 'I am simply being a smart consumer Peter. I've got my catalogue right here and I've already circled the things I need.' She waved it under his nose. 'Hmm, I'm not sure we NEED any more clutter in this place,' Pete said wryly, 'but at least you won't be paying full price for it I suppose!'

Sally had a ball. She got everything she had circled in the catalogue and much, much more. After all, everything was so cheap! She reached the checkout and smiled happily at all the other smart shoppers with their trolleys heaving, just like hers. 'That will be $862 please,' the cashier's voice jolted Sally into reality. Oops! She had only brought $300 cash with her. Not to worry, she could always use her credit card!

2. May is Toycott month!

Sally had been doing so well, until she fell into the trap that so many of us do - succumbing to the dreaded toy sales. Da, da, da, dumb!

It is a very easy trap to fall into. The annual toy sales have become a cultural phenomenon; everyone is doing it. It is so ingrained that we even had a note sent home from childcare one year asking parents not to drop their children off two hours early on the morning of the Target toy sales. They do not have enough staff to look after the influx.

The sheer volume of toys purchased is astounding! Last year I read a quote by Sally-Anne Newson, head of Big W online sales. She said that their goal was to sell more than three million toys in the sales. "That's two toys every second for 24 hours a day for 14 days". That is a LOT of money to spend on toys. And, it is a lot of unnecessary pressure placed on parents, families and mortgages!

The reason we spend so much money on toys is they are an emotional purchase. We buy them because we love our children. We also love the buzz we get from them smiling and saying "Thanks! You're the best!' One time when I bought some Lego for Jacqui, she was so excited she literally jumped up and down in circles around the store shouting 'Yippee!'. The buzz is so cool that I find myself looking for excuses to buy her new toys. It is this love that marketers use to manipulate us into buying truckloads of toys.

Many of you know that I originally trained as an industrial designer - but few know it was because I wanted to be a toymaker. I love toys! I love making children smile. But, as I gained insight into how the industry works, I started to rebel instead. I started asking, why? Why do we let the media and the toy stores whip parents into a frenzy when we know it is going to place more pressure on the family? These toy sales do NOT save people money. They are using our love for our children against us. We are being encouraged to spend our childrens' future on 'stuff'. Why do we let them do that to us?

Then I made a decision. I decided, I am not going to the toy sales this year. 'No way! No more! No how! I don't want to be herded towards the toy sale checkout. It is time for a Toycott!' There are better ways to get our children to smile and tell us that we are the best mum in the whole world. Like baking their favourite biscuits, listening to them, smothering them in kisses or reading them stories.

In this month's Toycott challenge, we want you to help us teach other parents ways to get their kids smiling that do not involve buying new toys. Tell us the fantastic things you have done which made your children grin. Then we will retell your stories to help and inspire others. Then everyone can get the emotional satisfaction of new toys - without having to buy any. Please write in and tell us, how how you made your child smile as if they had just received a cool new toy? The best four entries will win $50 each. To enter the competition click here.

If you DO find yourself wanting to buy things from the toy sales this year, please be cynical and read our eight steps for protecting your wallet. If you go to the toy sales with your guard down, marketers will take advantage of you.

Here is a link to the Eight Steps.

If you need extra support or someone to chat with, pop into our Forum. Good luck! We look forward to hearing all about those wonderful smiles!

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a business, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you could be in the draw to win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us about your special store, the better.

This month's winner is The Fabric Cave at 78 Belmore Street, Ryde, New South Wales as nominated by Barb.

The Fabric Cave sells fabric remnants, buttons, knitting wool, discontinued patterns, tapestries and so on with all profits going to charity. The fabrics are donated and arranged in colours. There is also dressmaking and upholstery fabric. There were bins out the front with pieces of lycra and tulle and other bits and pieces. The stock changes regularly depending on donations received. If you no longer sew and wish to get rid of your stash they will happily take your donations.

It is open Monday and Friday 9.30-2.00 and the first Sunday of the month 9.30-12.00. The ladies serving were lovely. Although the address is in Belmore St, you enter via Porter St.

I happened to visit the day of their first ever 50% off sale and I bought six pieces of fabric, some quite big and all very good quality for only $19. This included a lovely piece of linen and some good quality stretch material. I can make at least six items of clothing and probably more from that haul. I had selected one piece that had a mark on it which I hadn't noticed and the staff pointed it out to me. Even at full price I would have been happy to buy it!

Congratulations on being this month's winner Barb and big thumbs up to The Fabric Cave for providing a budget-friendly store for sewers and crafters alike.

If you know somewhere special that others would like to know about, please write in and tell us. Send in your Hidden Gem here. Thank you and good luck!

4. Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a cash prize of $100 each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Rising Grace (previously Fall from Grace) for this extract from her blog 'I'm addicted to shopping':

Note: I'm pretty horrified about how much money I've spent. I don't really need or want any comments expressing disgust or shock about it, please keep it nice. I'm feeling very ashamed, especially as I know how tough some people are doing it on here. I'm a bit fragile and writing this at 2am because I can't sleep for worry and won't have the guts to admit any of it in the morning!

I think I have a shopping addiction. A genuine 'need to seek help' kind of addiction.

I can't stop spending money on clothing. Sometimes accessories and shoes, but mainly clothing. Over the last two weeks I've spent *deep ashamed breath* over $1000 on three skirts, a belt, a jacket, a top and a dress. This is not uncommon for me and the reality is that I can't go through a week without buying at least one or two items of clothing, often three or four... I am here to try and figure out why I do it and stop feeling so sick about how much money I've spent.

I think there are a few reasons why I do this:

(1) For much of my early adult life I was extremely overweight and couldn't buy 'nice things'. I lost almost 40kg about three years ago and suddenly a whole new world of *vanity* opened up to me. I can fit into all of the straight sized clothing lines and designer lines that I used to dream about. For someone who couldn't buy a year 12 school ball dress and had to buy a horrid, satin peach 'mother of the bride' ensemble, being able to fit into a designer size 12 is like a dream come true. Suddenly I started to develop my own sense of style and received positive attention from others. I regularly get random compliments from strangers in the street over what I am wearing and I get so much happiness and satisfaction out of that...

BUT...

The happiness and satisfaction only seems to last for such a short while. I will buy a new skirt or dress and by the time I've worn it twice I am sick of it. I am embarrassed to wear something twice in front of friends or my boyfriend. Every time a social event comes up I feel like I have to have something new to wear to it. I guess I am trying to say that it's not just a feeling of vaguely wanting some new clothes but an overpowering need to have something new so that people will think I look nice and I will feel confident enough to actually go to a party. I have actually avoided going on a date with my boyfriend before because I felt that I didn't have anything nice enough to wear, even though my wardrobes (I have three, plus a full sized dressing room) are bulging with clothes.

I think my sense of self-esteem and confidence is irrevocably wound up in what stuff I buy and wear. I am known as the 'stylish' one of my group of friends and sometimes I feel so trapped by that expectation. Every time I have a job interview I have to buy a new outfit otherwise I am incredibly nervous.

I grew up in a relatively wealthy family and I have seen my mother shop like this all my life. My first memory of us spending time together was her buying me designer T-shirts at the age of three. My mother was very disappointed that these shopping trips ended when I started to put on weight as a young teen. Unfortunately, I don't have the income of my parents and my attempts to recreate their lifestyle just means I have nothing else to show for it.

I NEED and WANT to do something else with myself. I have tried to:

Tell myself savings in the bank feel better than a new dress (well for me they simply don't)
Direct debit 10% of my weekly income into a savings account (I have been known to transfer money from this acc. to my regular acc. with my smartphone in the change room at David Jones so I can buy stuff)
Establish an emergency fund of $500 (ditto with the transferring)
Cut up my credit card (done and I only owe a minimum of $500 on it nowadays)
Unsubscribe from fashion retailers' emails so I don't have to know about the lovely new things they are selling
Only go out with enough cash to tide me over (unfortunately I know my CC pin off by heart)
Give myself savings goals (goals that quickly die when I see something new and pretty).

I earn $740 per week after tax and I have nothing to show for it. This time last month I had a $500 savings fund and $600 in savings. I have spent it all. The only way I can pay for this amount of shopping is by living at home with my parents still and neglecting other areas of my life (boring necessities like car servicing).

Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do to help myself? So far I have decided upon:

Establishing my main savings account with another bank so I can't transfer money instantaneously to my everyday account. Any transfers will take three days not three seconds in a change room!
Putting a small amount of money away in an account I like to call 'fripperies' every week. When I have enough money in that account, I can buy something nice with it. If there is no money in that account then NO fripperies
Stop shopping as a 'hobby'. I love to go to a shopping centre on a Saturday and just wander and spend money. No more - I need other hobbies!
Actually getting some help from a psychologist for my self-esteem and self-confidence issues. I think I have a real problem and I won't be able to get through it on my own.

So for my own records, to keep me accountable and to try and keep me on the straight and narrow, I want to start this blog. I'd be interested to hear anyone's thoughts about other ways to help myself through this.

Congratulations Rising Grace for her honesty when facing her personal spending demons. To read more from her, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Best of the Forum: Retail Therapy?

Everyone loves a little retail therapy now and again! Unfortunately it is something many of us turn to when we want to feel better but can't actually afford it and we end up feeling worse! Next time the urge to splurge hits, head to the Forum instead for plenty of savvy support, wise words and terrific tips like these!

Personal style catalogue saves on spending and washing!

Marvellous Mimi has just the trick to rein in your spending when cries of 'I've got nothing to wear!' echo around your house. Why not set up a style catalogue showing all the different outfit combinations you have in your own wardrobe? If it's good enough for the supermodels..!
read more...

What do you think is an excess that others see as necessary/normal?

This thought provoking thread cuts to the heart of the 'want' versus 'need' debate. Where do you think the toy sales catalogues fit into this equation?
read more...

Things I no longer buy

You will be truly surprised and instantly inspired by the countless things our savvy members no longer waste their money on. Delve into this thread for an abundance of everyday ways to keep your cash in your pocket.
read more...

A saving is NOT a saving when...

When you save money, do you put the money you have saved into a savings account or use it to pay off debt? Or does it simply get spent on something else - in which case, does this actually make it a saving at all? Tassie Bound provides some real food for thought when she questions 'where does the money you save go?'
read more...

How much do you spend on clothes for your kids?

Chocolatewheats has a teenage daughter who says she has 'nothing to wear'. But is she really hard done by? How many clothes does a child actually need? In this thread our helpful members are quick to share their advice and experience.
read more...

$1 savings plan

What do you do with those pesky gold coins that seem to find their way down the back of the couch and under the mats in the foot wells of your car? Our clever member Marigold has got a plan to make her small change really work for her!
read more...

Today I saved $$ by... thread number four

It doesn't matter HOW you save money - as long as you save it! This lovely, chatty thread shows the value in every single saving we make. Big or small, it all adds up!
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: Shiny, New Things

What truly makes you happy? Going shopping and spending your hard earned money on more possessions - or enjoying the self-satisfaction and peace of mind you get from having financial security? These clever tips from our Savings Vault show it is possible to achieve both!

Saving money while still having lots of toys

Babies and children love lots of new and varied toys which can end up costing a lot of money. Two good ways to save money and still have lots of toys is to:

Let all of your friends with kids know that you love second hand things like toys and clothes. You will find that they will often quite happily pass on old toys and clothes, both for you and your baby.
Go op-shopping (or second hand shopping). Toys from second hand shops are only ever a couple of dollars maximum and usually all they need is a wash with disinfectant - plus to your child it's a brand new toy.

If you get any toys from these methods it doesn't matter if your child isn't old enough for it yet. Just put it away and bring it out at a later date. Got too many toys? Then split them into a couple of boxes and swap the toys around every week. Your child will rediscover some old toys that they were previously sick of. I have found that as well as saving me money, my child actually prefers second hand toys to new.

Contributed by: Darra L

Make non-spending a habit

When I first became budget conscious, I started looking at where my money was going. The bottle of water from the store, the newspaper on the way home, the quick bite to eat with friends and so on. I was amazed to find how quickly those little things added up. So I implemented a no-spend day once a week. For one day during the week, I would not buy a thing. No food, no stamps, no papers, no mints, no music. Nothing! It was difficult at first to manage one day a week but within a fortnight I had built it up to two days a week. This means I have to work out exactly what I need and wait until a spending day to purchase it. This not only stops silly spending but once you actually have to wait to buy something you usually forget you needed it in the first place! No spending days have transformed my spending habits and I urge anyone trying to cut down on consumerism to consider having their very own no-spend days.

Contributed by: Jan Dooley

Scratch that spending itch

I'm saving madly to build a new house so I've really cut down on discretionary spending. Every so often, however, my fingers itch to spend money on something frivolous and unnecessary. When this happens I think ahead for the next few months. Whose birthday is coming up? Is Christmas coming up? Are there any special events coming up? What essential item do I need to spend money on? I then make a list of presents or essential items and go shopping for those things instead. I have no guilt trips as it's money I would have spent anyway and I'm prepared with presents and other things so no last minute panic. Best of all, that itchy spending finger has gone!

Contributed by: Helen Kuisma

Joining toy library

I joined the local toy library when my son was about ten months old, the age when he needed the bigger, more expensive toys to keep him occupied. For an annual membership of $50, and one rostered 'shift' (1.5 hours) in the library per term, I can borrow up to six toys for two weeks. So far I have only borrowed three toys each time but each set of three toys would have cost over $100 to buy. He gets to play with different toys every two weeks and I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars keeping up with his developmental stages. The value for the $50 membership so far: at least $350 in just two months!

Contributed by: Kirrilly Lindberg

Creative kids' fun from the recycle bin

I've discovered a great way to keep my three-year-old happily entertained with free decorative boxes she can paint! We keep all of our old cardboard boxes for recycling - cereal boxes, tea bag boxes and so on. When my daughter wants to paint something, instead of going out and buying her something to paint, all I do is get something from the recycling, slide my finger down the sides to 'undo' the glue, turn the box inside out and re-glue or, if pressed for time, staple or sticky tape. This puts the printing on the inside, and my daughter has a beautiful clean box to paint and decorate to her hearts content!

Contributed by: Kate

No deposit lay-by traps

I find it annoying that stores put all the great (or not so good) sales, such as the toy sales, on when you receive your tax refund. Many people (including myself) have fallen for the no deposit lay-bys. The catch is that you must pay the first instalment two weeks later but then you can wait until Christmas to pay the balance. A lot of people put heaps on lay-by, only to have to cancel it two months before Christmas. It's the no deposit lay-bys that trap people into spending up big without the money to pay for the purchases later.

Contributed by: Naomi Kuta

Recycle your toddler's clothes

I save around $10 on each pair of my five-year-old's shorts, by recycling her toddler clothes - it sounds crazy, but it really works! I have already saved $60 on my daughter's summer clothes this year! Instead of throwing out size one and two shorts when your toddler has outgrown them; try them on your child again at around age four. You may well find that they fit again or are possibly a little too large! How does it work? Once the children outgrow their 'toddler tubby tummy' and no longer use bulky nappies the larger waistband made for size one and two clothes can fit a four or small five-year-old child easily again. You can either recycle the shorts as before, or make them into a cheap summer pyjama set by adding a T-shirt. You can pick up children's T-shirts for just a dollar or two each from larger supermarkets. Combine the shorts with the T-shirt and you have a saving of up to $15 on a regular set of pyjamas!

Contributed by: Kim T

Some extras to say thanks to our Vault members for all their valuable contributions:

Don't be trapped by expensive branded toy accessories Contributed by: Jeana Sullivan

Smart mums don't spend on toys Contributed by: Sandie

Unspend your way out of debt Contributed by: Lisa R

Felt fun toys are cheap to make Contributed by: Mon Cat

7. Cooking with Mimi: Family Treat Night

While we're all trying to avoid the temptation to shop for toys this month, let's reward ourselves with some delicious new family treats! I'm thinking a fun dinner idea is in order, and my Fondue-Style Pizza followed by my Triple Treat Ice Cream Loaf, fit the bill perfectly!

Who can resist soft, chewy cubes of bread dipped in rich tomato sauce, cheesy goodness and crispy bacon bits! And if you think that sounds good, wait till you slice into the gooey ice creamy goodness of the Triple Treat with layers of pink and white marshmallow sandwiched between ice cream and chocolate! Is your mouth watering yet?!

Fondue-Style Pizza

(Serves 6)

Equipment:

Medium serving bowl
Cheese grater
2 microwave-safe bowls or jugs, 2 litre capacity
Whisk
Bread knife
Freezer bag
Sharp knife
Non-stick frypan
Flat serving platter
Dinner plates

Ingredients:

1 cup milk powder
3 cups grated cheese
2 cups water, made up to stock with 2 chicken stock cubes
4 tbsp extra water
4 tbsp cornflour
4 tbsp tomato paste
A pinch each of oregano, thyme and basil
3 bacon rashers
2 loaves unsliced bread, preferably day old

Method:

Use your bread knife to carefully remove the outer crusts of your unsliced bread. Pop these into a freezer bag for making breadcrumbs or snacks another day. Cut your unsliced, crust-less loaves of bread into 4-5cm cubes and place on your serving platter.

Next, dice the bacon finely using your sharp knife and set aside. You'll be dipping your cheesy bread into the bacon bits, so the smaller they are the better.

Spoon your tomato paste into your bowl, and add the four tablespoons of water and herbs. Stir well until it looks like thick tomato sauce and set aside. You could also use regular tomato sauce or pasta sauce if you prefer.

Now it's time to make the all important cheese fondue sauce. Measure your stock and milk powder into your microwave-safe jug and whisk thoroughly. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes until steaming hot.

Next, mix the cornflour with four tablespoons of water until nice and smooth. Add along with your grated cheese to the stock and milk mixture and mix well. Microwave on high for a minute at a time, whisking between each minute, until you have a thick smooth sauce.

Toss your finely diced bacon into a hot frypan. Reduce the heat and allow to sizzle away for a minute or two. While you're waiting, re-heat your cheese sauce so it's piping hot for serving.

Now it's time to call family and have them lay out the table with dinner plates, cutlery, the tomato sauce and the platter of bread cubes.

Tip the crispy bacon bits into your small serving bowl and get it to the table pronto! Remove your cheese sauce from the microwave, give it one last good stir, tasting for seasoning. Tip it all into your serving bowl and take it to the table.

Now there's an art to this... but you'll catch on quickly. One morsel and you'll be sold... Simply pierce a fat, fluffy cube of bread with your fork. Dip it lightly into the seasoned tomato paste sauce and shake off the excess. Now dip it into your cheesy sauce before dipping quickly into the bacon bits, collecting just a few. Pop into your mouth and enjoy!

Don't ya love it? Sort of pizza-ish, sort of fondue-ish, heaven on a fork!

Triple Treat Ice Cream Loaf

(Serves 8)

Equipment:

Loaf tin or dish
Aluminium foil
Large spoon
Sharp knife
Kitchen scissors
Microwave safe dish
Serving platter

Ingredients:

1-1.5 litres vanilla ice cream
6 large pink marshmallows
6 large white marshmallows
125g cooking chocolate
6-8 small rectangular biscuits

Remove your ice cream from the freezer and allow it to soften for 20-30 minutes. In the meantime, line your loaf tin or dish with aluminium foil. Snip each marshmallow into three flattish discs with your kitchen scissors.

Cover the bottom of your dish with the biscuits, trimming them to fit. Next, cover the biscuits with a thick layer of ice cream about 10cm deep and smooth with the back of your spoon. Layer the marshmallows, white then pink, over the ice cream. Add another layer of ice cream over the marshmallows as before.

Place the chocolate into a microwave-safe dish and heat on 50% power for about 90 seconds until melted and smooth. Pour a thin layer of melted chocolate over the ice cream loaf and smooth again. Pop your loaf into the freezer for at least two hours to firm up.

When you're ready to serve, run a knife that's been heated under hot water all the way around the edges of your loaf tin to loosen it, and then upend it onto your serving platter, chocolate side up. Cut thick slices using a heated knife. Looks great, tastes even better!

8. Penny's Blog: You Can't Take it With You

April 29th

I'm back! I hope... goodness me, it's been a while! I would love to spin you a wonderful tale full of twists and turns all about my exciting adventures during the past month but the truth is, I've been in bed pretty much the whole time. I'm not going to bore you senseless with my health woes but in a nutshell:

I don't have breast cancer - yay!
I don't have cervical cancer - double yay!
I do, however, have some sort of virus which attacks your heart and kidneys and can even kill you if you don't kill it first. No 'yay' for this one! Ali actually refers to my bedroom as 'The Chamber of Secrets' because I can disappear in there all of a sudden and not venture out again for weeks! Still, I'm up and about now and the doctors are doing their best to get rid of the blasted thing - only time will tell whether they have been successful.

Makes life interesting I guess! It's certainly one way to save money as I haven't been able to drive my car so no petrol expenses, no Zumba classes (saving $20 a week), no lunches out with friends (another $20 a week), no nothing really. All of life's little luxuries and material possessions become totally unimportant when you're not able to tootle off to the shops to get them or watch TV or read magazines to be exposed to all the 'must-haves'. Just goes to show that a person can exist quite easily on nothing but bed rest, chicken soup and ice cream when necessary. I mean really, at the end of the day, what else is important but food, your loved ones and a place to sleep? Not much, I've learned!

April 2012

2nd - Mr Patel - World Famous in NZ!

9. Lin's Garden Diary: Bugging Out!

Arggghh! My broccoli leaves have holes in them! Honesty, they look as though the kids have attacked them with a craft puncher! Keen to prove their innocence, Seb and Zoe became regular little Sherlock Holmes's as they hunted high and low for signs of snails, caterpillars and any other creepy crawlies but kept getting interrupted by pretty white butterflies. Turns out it was actually these nasty little critters that ate our leaves! In need of an effective deterrent FAST, we delved into the Vault and Forum and found a world of information on how to be rid of bugs and diseases, including some great natural recipes for organic sprays:

Banish the white butterfly!
Thanks to Susanne (VIC) for this tip! To get rid of the white butterfly she suggests 'Spray the plants first with the hose and then sprinkle plain flour over them. If snails, white butterflies or cabbage worms are the problem they will eat the leaves and flour. The flour will swell up inside them and kill them'. Donna (QLD) also suggests Pyrethrum spray. Senior Citz (QLD) says 'If you string small bits of white cloth or paper in the area of your vegies, the invading white butterflies will go away as they are very territorial and will not invade where another group is working'. Get the kids involved - Seb and Zoe had a ball drawing and cutting out their butterflies!

Scare off pests with soapy water
Yes, I'm serious! Water from the washing machine can be collected and used directly on plants in the garden. This helps protect from a variety of pests. The soapy water can be collected during the spin cycle and seems to work very well on tomatoes. Alisa (Otago NZ) also suggests 'left over soapy water from washing dishes. My mum swears by it!' You can also make a soap spray, which is good for banishing aphids, red spider mites, and thrips. You need 225g of plain soap and 9 litres of hot water. Grate the soap and dissolve in the water, stirring well. Cool before use. After spraying infected plants gently hose down with clean water. Repeat as often as necessary.

Garlic spray
Use this for ants, spiders, white fly, beetles, leaf hoppers, scale, citrus bugs (stink bugs), caterpillars, aphids, cabbage and tomato worms. Thanks to Bloomen Marvelous (Kallangur,QLD), 'I use about 7-10 cloves of garlic, a good swig of Tabasco (maybe a quarter of the bottle) and/or three chillies. Smash the cloves to a lumpy pulp and put the chillies or Tabasco in an old jug. Pour about a litre of boiling water and let it sit all day, all night and the next day. That afternoon add 70% water and 30% garlic, mix in a garden sprayer and spray as needed. The mixture lasts for about three weeks and then goes off'.

Onion spray
Great for spider mites, caterpillars and thrips. Place onions in blender or chop. Cover in boiling water. Cool and dilute before use.

Seaweed tea
As many of you know this is my favourite feed, but it is also really good for mildew, fruit rot and rust. Leave seaweed (the large floppy type) to soak in a bucket of water. I leave the bucket near the garden and apply once a week, allowing the rain water to top it up.

Chilli spray
Thanks to Mawghan (WA) for this general pest control spray. 'Blend together half a cup of fresh chillies with two cups of water. Add a dash of dishwashing liquid to improve sticking. If you have no chillies substitute with two tablespoons of Tabasco sauce. Always spray a small section of the plant to check for leaf burn. Check in 24 hours and if there is no damage spray all the plants you want to protect. Leaf burn with any spray is more likely to occur during hot weather.'

Lettuce spray
A great way to use up those limp lettuces in your garden or fridge! Use for white cabbage moth. Simply boil up the leaves, then cool and dilute before spraying.

I also love this tip from Cheshire Cat (QLD)! She suggests putting a hair net over young cabbage plants while they are small to keep the bugs out. She says it might look a bit silly but it works at keeping the butterflies at bay!

On a final note, to avoid unwanted pests and diseases, keep your vegie gardens tidy by removing dead leaves and falling leaves and gently forking through to allow good drainage and air flow. Crop rotation and companion planting also help to keep these pests away. A strong plant is a happy plant and is more likely able to fight off the nasties. Happy gardening everyone!

10. Homeopathy Corner: Big Savings

We are often asked why Simple Savings includes articles about homeopathy in our newsletters. It is a great question and the answer is; because I see the world differently to other people. When Fran first showed me how homeopathy works and how the remedies were made I was so excited. I thought if even a tenth of what she is saying is true the government would save itself millions, if not billions, of dollars.

When Fran first started writing articles for this newsletter I wanted her to do price comparison articles such as this one about Ron's osteomylitis. Osteomylitis is a severe and very nasty disease which her patient had been suffering from for 20 years. When Fran told me Ron's story, I started adding up the numbers and realised the government had probably spent about $80,000 helping Ron with very little success. Fran on the other hand gave him his life back for the grand total of $360. That is a huge cost saving!

Here is a link to Ron's article:
homeopathyplus.com.au/osteomyelitis/

11. From Last Month: Kids' Clothes for Grown Ups?

Last month Sophia asked:

"I have lost a lot of weight over the past year and have gone from a size 14 to a size 6. I should be over the moon but I am really struggling to find clothes to fit me. Even adult size 8 clothing just hangs on me. I am resigned to the fact that I am going to have to look at wearing children's clothes but there is such a small selection of shops where I live and none of them have a children's range except for toddlers! Can anyone recommend any stores which carry a good range of clothing for teen girls?"

Thanks so much to everyone who sent in their ideas to help Sophia out. Here are a collection of our favourites!

Become a clothing market expert

Two years ago I had a similar experience. At 175cm and 65kg I was already considered slim/skinny but then was taken ill and my weight dropped to 53kg! I was fortunate in running into an old school friend at the local market (Chandler Markets in Brisbane). She was walking out with all sorts of things she had picked up from the general market/flea markets. From then on I joined her and bought a variety of clothes including designer jeans, pants, jumpers and jackets for $2.00-$3.00. You can try most things on at the stalls and you get an idea of what will fit after a while. It's amazing how a new pair of jeans can add a whole new dimension to your wardrobe. Give it a go - you may even become addicted like I did. People often comment on how well I'm dressed but I never let them in on my secret that my outfit costs as little as $5.00!

Contributed by: Kirsty C

Go undercover

Size 6 adult clothing is not as hard to find as she thinks. I can recommend checking out Undercoverwear's website at www.undercoverwear.com.au and click on the 'clearance' tab. You can find plenty of size 6 brand new fashions starting at $5.00 where the original prices were way more expensive. Also don't forget eBay! Just put 'size 6 women's clothes' in the search area. Major shopping centre stores such as Witchery and Sussan often have plenty of unsold garments on special because they are a size 6 or 8 and most of us are a larger frame. Happy hunting!

Contributed by: Pauline Bilotto

Free delivery from the UK? Whatever next!

For great clothing in all sizes try Next online (www.nextdirect.com). It is a British company which has just started delivering overseas. When you log onto the website you need to click on your country's flag at the bottom as not all items are available in all countries. They have a full range of petite adult clothes but also a range of teenager's clothes - and the best bit is they deliver for free! Honestly, there are no hidden costs and it doesn't matter how much you order; they deliver it right to your front door for no charge and if it is not right you can just send it back to them... for free! Hope this helps!

Contributed by: Emma Rainey

Look around for Asian stores

Visit the Asian shops in shopping centres or in the smaller neighbourhood centres and you will find many items in smaller sizes, including shoes and evening dresses. They are fashionable, cost effective and because they cater for a large percentage of their population they come in several colours.

Contributed by: Deb Manendis

Overseas/online keeps petite wardrobe stocked

I buy a lot of size 6 clothes from eBay, ASOS, Lippy, Wayne Cooper, Cue, and Review. USA is good to buy from for jeans because they go to size 0. On eBay I buy underwear and coats from Asia as the sizes tend to be small. Also I go to factory outlet places. Usually the size 6 clothes end up there reduced, which is a bonus!

Contributed by: Sandra Latter

GirlXpress is great!

Kmart has a great range of clothing called GirlXpress. It is in the adult section but made for teens and stocks a size 6. I buy most of my clothes from there as they are cheap and nice and I know they will fit. Dotti also caters for small sizes.

Contributed by: Celia Tanner

Compare stores with a few clicks

The best places to find smaller sized clothing are Asian and American brands or stores. For example there are Asian-based clothing stores in most shopping centres such as TEMT, SES and Valleygirl, who all often have very small sizes. Also try American-based online stores; they will have measurements to compare your body to their sizing guide, so you may find you will fit their size 4, or even a size 0, which is two below a 6. It may even work out cheaper buying this way because you can compare many stores with a few clicks!

Contributed by: Louise Harvey

Target for teens good for grown-ups too

I recently discovered that Target sell most, if not all, of their clothing online. Target seems to have a great range of teen clothing and their Hot Options brand is often made in a smaller fit. I sometimes wear a size 6, sometimes 8, but I find that Target size 8 fits me quite well. I believe they also put their measurements on the site, so you can be sure whether or not something will fit you before you order.

Contributed by: Robynlouise Thomas

Be philosophical

I am an NZ size 6 (which is smaller than Australian size 6, so I really sympathise with your dilemma - I HATE buying clothes!). I found stores like Jay Jays and Alley X stocked some size 6 (I lived in Townsville). The thing with girls' clothes is that they usually don't make them with hips. They are kind of straight, so if your figure is one where your waist isn't too different in size to your hips, you might manage wearing size 10, 12, or 14 girls, but I'm finding it increasingly hard to find girls clothes that fit hips AND waist, especially after having a baby! I've finally decided that the only way I will ever get the clothes I WANT in a size I FIT is to make them. A friend who has great sewing (and pattern making!) skills is helping me. I've decided to cull my wardrobe over the next few years, so I own less clothing but actually wear what I have rather than a whole motley collection of things that get worn maybe once a year. I'm starting with some elasticised and gathered skirts. Four in different colours that use the same basic pattern, just enough to get me through this coming summer. Then next year I'll probably do the same with some dresses using a style that I can put leggings and long sleeves under, or wear sleeveless so I get optimum use out of them.

So my tips are:

Know what you like
Know the styles that suit and fit you best (no floppy necklines for my small busted frame!)
Consider spending more money on fewer items of clothing, but focusing on ones that can be dressed up, dressed down, and go with multiple other items in your wardrobe
Try to be philosophical about it all - can you put up with wearing those pants that are really a bit too big for a few more months this year, then get new ones next year so you can spend the money on some end-of-season sales instead?
Don't get sucked into buying something only because it fits. If you don't like it, you probably won't wear it. Unless of course it is your uniform!

Contributed by: Amy Diffey

12. This Month's Help Request: Where Do I Start?

This month we have an interesting one! Karen asks:-

"I've been on SS for a few months now, so am relatively new and loving every minute. However, I tend to flick from one thing to another, spending valuable time and need more structure. Do you have any suggestions to new members where to start? For example, I have:-

Mimi's recipes/other recipes on my watchlist.
$21 Challenge (read this book from the library).
Hints & Tips (added to my watchlist).

I desperately need to reduce my shopping bill and need to menu plan more often. Does anyone have any other suggestions? What do other members do to get the best out of SS?"

If you have any tips which can help Karen, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: Major Savings, Freedom, Freedom!

'I have just finished our annual household budget for 2011/12. My husband had kept our 2005 budget and I did a comparison and was amazed how much the cost of living has increased! Insurances have more than doubled, electricity has doubled and water is close behind. Food is a big one that has drastically increased since 2005. However, with all of those increases we have managed to cut our household costs in half since 2005! This has freed both of us up to be able to live the life we want and do things we didn't think possible.

At present we are not working and not getting any help from the government either in any form. My husband has had to change work (he was in the construction industry) because of his arthritis and is now full time at uni doing a degree, I am at home having time out also because of chronic conditions but we are not anxious because we have saved and been busy little savers from working hard and putting into place all the saving tips we could find and Simple Savings have had a large impact on that.

We have rethought EVERY expense we had and REVISED all of our spending habits. Some of which were; looking at all the different insurances we had, which really gobble up our hard earned dollars. We both had two life policies, which we simply did not need. So we cancelled one each and kept the ones attached to our superannuation which come out annually from our super, freeing up cash flow on hand. I have put the $21 Challenge principles into place every week now for our groceries; in other words I don't buy anything we just don't need immediately and I don't get tempted by the yummy sales.

As of last June we are completely out of debt, we own our own home, own cars and all our own stuff :)... This makes a huge difference between having to work sick and having time out to catch our breaths and RETHINK life and what's important. I have also put the $21 Challenge principles into place in clothes shopping and craft... and it's working! I am now trying it out with gifts which are a big one as I have six daughters, their partners and seven grandchildren.

Even my hubby has come on board with all of these things which make life a little easier and more pleasant. I am now passionate about putting saving measures into place and am still rethinking everything before I do it! AND the big plus is I'm having FUN doing it!

Contributed by: Jennifer R (reproduced from her blog)

14. Goodbye, Goodbye...

Phew! Well, that wraps up another busy month's newsletter. We hope you have enjoyed it and have been inspired by all the money saving tips. Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say 'g'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try.

Don't forget to spread the love around to all your friends and family too by forwarding them our newsletter or letting them know about our website. Help make their lives easier and save them money too! Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page.

Have a fabulous month and good luck with your Toycott Challenge. See you next time!

All the best,
Fiona

April 2014 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - April 2014

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Easy When You Know How
April: $21 Challenge
Ye Olde Shoppe: The One and Only $21 Challenge!
Penny Wise: A Dash of Soy and a Splash of Lemon
Best of the Vault: Take the Challenge!
Best of the Forum: Meet the $21 Challenge Warriors!
Best Members' Blog: Challenges!
Cooking with Mimi: Cinnamon Apple Fritters
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Using Paper to Save Coin
From Last Month: Help With 'Cheep' Easter Goodies
This Month's Help Request: Give Me a Hope Among the Gum Trees!

Hello,

How are you going? We loved finding 'Better Deals' during March and got some great emails from you as well as about some of your 'wins' this month - well done! April's $21 Challenge month is an old favourite that reminds us to shop at home, menu plan and spend our dollars wisely - we can't wait to hear how you go.

We love hearing from you - here are two of our favourite emails this month:

"I want to tell you what a single phone call achieved. I got my house and contents renewal notice and saw premiums were going up $28 a month. With a single phone call, I was able to renegotiate and reshape the policy and am now paying only $5.00 more per month than I was and saving $270 for the year." (Anne)

"I've just been looking through my files and found I have kept every Simple Savings hint from April 2009 through to the most recent one. The information is invaluable and I thank you so much for all these years of sending them to me! I'm looking forward to many more!" (Kerry (Mr))

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. Remember, macadamia oil is still on special for $15 for one litre, plus postage.
Save $3500 per litre on beauty products!

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Easy When You Know How

"Psst, Sal, are you there? I need your help!" Chloe hissed, peering around the door. "Oh hello!" Sally smiled. "What's with the whispering?" "I don't want Tom to know I'm here ," Chloe said as she scuttled in. "He'll be home from work soon and he's coming for dinner - but I've got no food! Worse still, I've got no money to buy any more! My car needed a new battery this week and then I had to take Milly to the vet and it used up all my grocery money" Tom's a wonderful cook and he always goes to so much trouble. I can't just feed him beans on toast!"

"Nothing wrong with beans on toast!" grinned Pete. "Why don't you give her one of your double dinners out of the freezer, Sal? They're always good in an emergency - they don't taste half bad either!" "I could," Sally tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But I can think of something much more fun! Can you keep an eye on dinner please, Love? I'm going over to Chloe's. I think it's time for a $21 Challenge!" "Time for a what? Where are we going? And what's that book for?" asked Chloe, looking confused. "We're going to find you some food!" laughed Sally. "Let's get going!"

"That was absolutely delicious!" Tom said later that evening, patting his stomach. "You have to tell me the secret ingredient though - was it baked beans?" "Yes, it was!" giggled Chloe. "Ingenious! Who would have thought?" Tom smiled as Chloe blushed shyly. Thank goodness for Sally and The $21 Challenge. In one recipe she had used up her tin of beans and a tin of sweetcorn that had sat in the pantry for months - and it was GOOD! Best of all, Sally had helped her come up with a meal plan for the whole week. And she thought she didn't have any food!

2. April: $21 Challenge

What can we say about the $21 Challenge that hasn't already been said? Well, to newcomers like Chloe, quite a lot! Amazing as it sounds, the $21 Challenge has been a well-known and loved part of Simple Savings life since 2006. Many of us have integrated it into our domestic management as a matter of course. Like Chloe, we use it as a coping skill to get us through when disaster strikes or when we are faced with unforeseen expenses. We might do it when we want to free up some extra money to go towards a goal or reward. Or we do it as a refresher exercise, to prove to ourselves we've still 'got it' and remind ourselves what we're capable of. Some of us even do it just for fun! Whatever the reason, anyone who has done a $21 Challenge knows how valuable and effective it is. Sally knows this; she learned it from Hanna in the first instance and is now passing it on to Chloe in her time of need.

This month, we want you to PASS IT ON!

A few years ago, Jamie Oliver launched a book entitled 'Ministry of Food' and went on a crusade, imploring readers and viewers to pass their favourite recipes on to their friends, family and colleagues. He wanted people who didn't know how to cook to be able to learn how to create delicious, nutritious, cheaper meals from scratch, rather than resort to expensive, unhealthy take aways and enlisted the help of the public to assist with his mission. This month, we want you to do the same with the $21 Challenge!

The $21 Challenge can help anyone to save money and - where needed - to learn a new way of cooking and eating. It can help you to become more creative and resourceful in the kitchen. It can help you to be more organised and time efficient. It can help you to find cooking more enjoyable with an extensive range of recipes and solutions to common food problems. It can help you to be a smarter consumer. And as Chloe found, it can help you to find both food and money when you think there is none. All you need to do to achieve all this is to give the $21 Challenge a go for one week.

Of course, if you have done the $21 Challenge yourself, you already know all this! So this month, we want you to use that knowledge to help someone else. If you have a favourite $21 Challenge recipe, write it out and give it to someone or share it with your friends on Facebook. Tell the people you care about how the $21 Challenge has helped you and point them in the direction of the Simple Savings website and our Facebook page so they can learn more about it. Better yet, if you have a copy of the $21 Challenge book, lend it out to someone else so that they can get the best that the Challenge has to offer - or best of all, send them in the direction of Ye Olde Shoppe so they can buy their very own copy and keep on passing it on!

The $21 Challenge is perfect for young people leaving home or flatting to help them learn how to cook from scratch and make delicious, healthy meals for little cost. When Penny taught a class of Year 12 students three years ago, she gave them all a copy of the $21 Challenge book and told them. 'You might not appreciate it now - but you will!' Some of those students have gone on to become nurses; some are parents, some are still at university but they have all now left home and still remember the book she gave them (and how some of them had to wrench it off their parents!). The $21 Challenge is also ideal for newlyweds, new parents, families with young children, families with older children - everyone, right up to retirees who would like to find new ways to stretch their dollars further.

Of course the best way to see what the $21 Challenge is all about and how it works is to simply DO it! If you have yet to do a Challenge of your own, make this month the time to give it a go. All the support and inspiration you need is available on the Simple Savings site, including the story of the very first $21 Challenge and how it got its name.

We hope you find it rewarding 'passing it on' this month. Thanks for all your help! Oh - and here's something about the $21 Challenge for EVERYONE that you very likely didn't know. Can you guess who has his very own copy of the $21 Challenge book? Yep, it's Jamie Oliver!

3. Ye Olde Shoppe: The One and Only $21 Challenge

The $21 Challenge book is a bit like magic - you can't really believe you can do it, then poooffff, you have saved $50, perhaps $150 or even more!

Even better... The $21 Challenge is on special for $12, plus postage. You can find out more here.

4. Penny Wise: A Dash of Soy and a Splash of Lemon

My friend reckons you can fix pretty much anything with soy sauce or lemon juice. At first I thought he was quite possibly mad. Many times I would watch aghast as he liberally squeezed fresh lemon into all kinds of dishes I would never have dreamed of shaking one anywhere near! But the thing was, every time he added lemon to something, it turned out good. Better than good; in fact quite often sensational. And, as I've watched him cook more and more I've had to admit to myself that he's not mad after all; he just 'gets' food. As in, he understands its many different flavours and knows exactly what a dish needs to improve it. Eight times out of ten, it's soy sauce or lemon; the other two it might be sweet chilli sauce or curry paste - but he always gets it right and these days I also find myself shaking the soy sauce bottle over many a saucepan or bowl and running out to the garden to pick a lemon! I have been so grateful for this knowledge over the past 12 months when both money and food have been particularly tight. No matter how little food I have had or how plain, I have learned how to make it taste special, even fantastic, with these few things. Sometimes all you need is one simple tip passed on from one person to another to make a huge difference.

And it is tips like this and the many thousands more I have learned from Simple Savings which have helped me through the toughest year of my life both financially and personally. This wonderful site and community has been my lifeline for almost ten years now - but never more so than this last year. I honestly can't imagine what life would be like for the boys and me now without all the knowledge, skills, tips and recipes I have gained from the Vault and Forum over the years. The bank balance may not show it yet, but I feel our lives are extremely rich.

I wanted to be able to give something back as a thank you for all the support, advice and encouragement I have received from members during my first year as a solo mum. The following is a collection of recipes which have helped get me through meal times on many an occasion. Most of them I've had for years, some even since I was a small child but it's only really now they are coming into their own and I am thankful for every one of them. Some are completely made up and I'm not sure if I'm doing you a favour by inflicting them on you but if you are brave enough to give them a go, please do, I would love to hear what you think! I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my boys and I do but most of all, I hope that perhaps one day they may just help someone else the way they've helped me.

With much love and gratitude to you all,

Penny x

A Dash of Soy and a Splash of Lemon (397Kb)

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page.

...or in our Members' Blog section.

5. Best of the Vault: Take the Challenge!

Just when we think we've heard every $21 Challenge recipe or idea from Simple Savers, well, they just keep surprising us! Here are some clever and practical tips and delicious recipes to help you on your way to a successful $21 Challenge.

Chicken-less chicken soup

The $21 Challenge forces me out of my comfort zone and makes me look at other ways of making the family's favourite meals. Small variations are hardly noticed and save me money while clearing out my cupboard. Here's an example. The other night I made chicken soup from scratch without using chicken - I just added chicken stock instead of chicken pieces. I served the soup with udon noodles and lots of garlic bread - yum. My six-year-old daughter said she wants it again soon!

Contributed by: Julie Szabo

I fed the family for a week for less than $14

I did it! I spent just $13.30 this week simply by rethinking my meals. I realised that all I needed to do was make a single chicken cover most of the week's dinners. First, I defrosted my $6 chook that had been sitting in the freezer and roasted it. Then instead of slicing it, chopping it up and serving it as pieces, I took all the meat off the bone which amounted to about four cups. I then planned five main meals which incorporated extra protein where possible. Here are the meals, which were all yummy and reasonably healthy:

Chicken, bacon and avocado pasta
White chicken chilli with cannellini beans
Chicken casserole with tinned tomatoes, chick peas and veg
Chicken and veg quesadillas
Chicken risotto (using the stock I made from the chicken carcass)

It was creative, varied and fun and it saved me heaps of time and money!

Contributed by: Mary M

Smart shopper meets $21 Challenge

I had always wanted to complete the $21 Challenge but could never get my head around the idea of sticking to such a small amount of money! But recently, I made a breakthrough.

For the last six weeks we have switched to a fortnightly shop instead of weekly. Our original budget was $130 a week for two adults and three children but we would sometimes spend up to $180 a week. I set a budget of $220 a fortnight and if any extras came up I had to pay for them out of our sanity money.

Last week I recorded the cost of each item I bought and my shopping came to $190 for the fortnight. I then went a step further and listed my recipes and the cost of each item, divided by the amount of serves each meal allows. I then worked out my fortnightly menu plan based around the cheaper meals, which are still nutritious and healthy.

To my astonishment, I have worked out this fortnight's main meals come to a grand total of $38.98, or $19.50 for each week. Therefore I have found a way to partake in the $21 Challenge, even if it is just for my main meals.

I am so excited and even more determined to stick to this fortnight's menu plan and shopping list.

Contributed by: Melissa

Free salad dressing

For a tasty, and free, salad dressing, I use the leftover flavoured vinegar from olives or sun-dried tomatoes. This adds a really interesting flavour to your everyday salad.

Contributed by: Sue Tossell

Set goals, find support and trust and you'll get there

For those wanting to get started on the $21 Challenge, I recommend reading the book from cover to cover first to get an overall feel of it. Next work out how you can implement the Challenge and start saving that precious grocery money! Also, think about your goals and why you are doing this. Go beyond just paying the bills and think about what really floats your boat - it may be to buy your own house or to go on a holiday. Another tip is to read as many books about finances as possible. And finally, find support on the Forum and trust that you will get there!

Contributed by: Minister of War & Finance

6. Best of the Forum: Meet the $21 Challenge Warriors!

The $21 Challenge began when Simple Savings member Barbara told us about a joke her husband had played on her. Little did he know what he had started! Barb had asked her husband to bring home some grocery money and thinking it was a great laugh, he returned waving a single $20 note. How on earth could she feed the two of them and their two teenage boys for a week on that? Determined to prove she could do it, Barb found a $1 coin floating around in her pocket - and the $21 Challenge was born! Since then, Forum members have been helping each other through $21 Challenge weeks with ideas, support and encouragement. Here are some great ideas for when the cupboard is bare... think again!

Are these ingredients useful or should I put them in the too hard basket?

We've included this thread as it is the PERFECT example of what the $21 Challenge is all about - using what you have on hand.
read more...

Recipe: flat bread

So you're all out of bread, rice, pasta, tacos? Think again!
read more...

Down to one egg

The cupboard is never bare with Simple Savers on your side!
read more...

$21 Challenge in the extreme

Forum member 'Taking care of the pennies' shares her $21 Challenge, with encouragement and ideas from the sidelines. Bravo - you're doing wonderfully!
read more...

7. Best Members' Blog: Challenges!

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a $100 store credit in Ye Olde Shoppe or $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is Pumpkin Patch who is doing big things on a small budget!

With February being a no-spend challenge, it couldn't have come at a better time for us - what an expensive month January was with car registration, house and contents insurance, all the utilities in at once not to mention things like RACQ, and other odds and ends. Add to that two lots of visitors, one family of them from overseas, and a trip with them for a few days to the beach which included lots of eating out, not something we usually do.

When they left, I decided it would be an opportune time to do a couple of $21 Challenges coinciding with the February challenge. I challenged myself to go the entire month without buying anything other than essentials. We wouldn't go without much, I had plenty of food in the pantry and a freezer full of meat, the main requirements would be fruit and vegetables. I keep a well-stocked supply cupboard as well, with plenty of toilet paper, soap, toothpaste and the like and I make most of my own cleaning solutions so that would present no problem.

We ate very well indeed, using only things we had on hand - I freeze most of my excess garden produce after the winter crop so there was no shortage there, and each night I could come up with an innovative meal to satisfy even the hungriest male. In addition, we had plenty of breakfast food, and lunches were sandwiches or wraps, home-made soups or quiches. The man of the house was quite amazed that we didn't need to go shopping for anything much at all - I have never done a $21 Challenge before but I really enjoyed the entire concept of it.

The end result was very satisfactory - the food bill for the entire month of February amounted to a very low $51.37. Even I am impressed. I plan to continue this as much as I possibly can but with our overseas visitors returning in the next day or two, that is going to be a big challenge - they tend to eat out almost every day so I'm going to have to work on changing that. At worst, I do have some two for one meal vouchers at our local club that we can use if necessary.

During the month they are here, we will all be going to the beach for a couple of weeks, staying in separate units, so we will again take most of our food with us - they will no doubt eat out much of the time. However, for the other couple of weeks when they are here with us at home, we will be striving not to blow the budget so I have some simple tasty meals planned for us all. I'm sure we can do it.

The bonus will be that I can get the contents of the big freezer down enough so that when we go on our own holidays in a couple of months, we can turn it off along with the drinks fridge, just leaving the main fridge/freezer stocked.

Well done Pumpkin Patch - we look forward to following the rest of your adventures!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

8. Cooking with Mimi: Cinnamon Apple Fritters...

When the Fridge is Bare and the Apples are Scary!

Turn these ...

into this ...

... with a pancake recipe.

My daughter has taken these apples to school and back for the last two weeks. I guess I should take the hint. No apples in the lunch box. They're a bit battered and bruised, but still edible... sooooo...

Remember the budget busting eggless pancake recipe I posted a while back?

Well it turns out it works well for this too; a great lesson in adapting an old favourite to make a new one. Just add the grated and chopped apple, some cinnamon, fry briefly in hot oil, more cinnamon sugar and ice cream. Feast :)

Here's the recipe again...

1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tbsp milk powder
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups water
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Combine the first four ingredients in one bowl and add the next four. Mix well. Done.

For the fritters:

2-4 apples
1 tsp cinnamon
Cinnamon sugar made by combining 1/2 cup caster sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl
Vegetable oil for frying
Paper towels or clean tea towels for draining

Peel your apples. Grate two and chop the other two into cubes. Mix the apple in to the batter. Add the cinnamon.

Let the batter rest for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium high heat, until a bread cube dropped in browns in about 25 seconds.

Remove your batter from the fridge. Don't stir it!

Take tablespoons of batter and drop them carefully into the hot oil. Flip them regularly with kitchen tongs, until they are golden on all sides. Remove them to the paper towel to drain well.

Toss them in the cinnamon sugar and serve immediately as is, or with ice cream, custard, cream or cinnamon yoghurt.

Yummmmmmeeeeeee :)

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Using Paper to Save Coin

and Dirt-Free Chicken Waterer!

Recycling to help feed the squirmers and feather the nest

Paper is one recyclable that most folks will quite happily pop in the recycle bin along with bottles and cans but lately we have been using it for other purposes. We started to think about all the paper that we receive in the form of bills, junk mail, cardboard packaging, toilet rolls, free 'newspapers', as well as scrap paper generated by children, and we decided that we could be using a lot more of this resource on site. I don't recycle the glossy magazine style papers or cardboard boxes as I have read that the chemicals/inks used can potentially leave toxic residues in the soil. The best way I have found to shred the paper (after experimenting with the lawnmower and mulcher) is with a cheap $20 paper shredder we purchased a few years ago.

It has shredded hundreds of old bills, the girls' old school work, old seed catalogues and many, MANY of the discarded newspapers left on the train by folks on Bianca's evening commute home. So far we have come up with more ideas than we have paper for. ;)

We have been feeding soaked and shredded bills and scrap paper to the squirmers for quite a while now. They really do hook right in and make very quick work of it. Dry shredded paper can also be added into worm farms if they become too wet to help soak up some of the excess moisture. We have also used four dampened-down sheets of newspaper as a covering for the top of worm farms to help keep the bedding moist as well as keep the light out. It normally doesn't last long as the worms will quickly start munching on it if there isn't enough food around. :/

I started to use shredded paper for the girls' nesting box after the old bedding got saturated during a heavy storm. There was no fresh straw on hand and I figured that the worms wouldn't mind sharing their paper, and have been using it ever since with no complaints from the girls as of yet ;)

The compost pile is another place in the yard where paper/cardboard can be helpful for some. While we urban gardeners have access to a lot of nitrogen based composting ingredients (food scraps, lawn clippings and perhaps poultry manure) we don't all have yards that supply us with a lot of organic matter high in carbon (dried leaves & branch trimmings). Paper is essentially pulped timber which is very high in carbon and an essential part of the composting process. It's also a lot cheaper than popping down to the produce store (if you have one nearby) to buy a bale of hay (our last bale cost us $10).

Making a cheap, dirt-free chicken waterer

I blogged on a very basic waterer made with one of these nipple drippers a while back but thought I would do a quick little 'how to' post on it, as well as an update on our watering system. These nipple feeders are a great way to keep the water clean and fresh for your flock as they are a closed unit and dirt can't get in. Our chickens have had theirs for a while now and it has been a great success, so I thought I would show you how cheap and easy it is to make one.

These little units work on water pressure. The water in the reservoir keeps the valve shut until the bottom pin is moved, dislodging the tiny ball and allowing water to drip through for the bird/animal to drink. Once the pin is back in place the water pressure forces the ball down, stopping the water. They can be bought from stock and pet supply stores for $3.00-$4.00 each or for around a dollar if purchased on the Internet in bulk.

To install the drippers all you need is a container to hold water, a drill and drill bit. For plastics of different thickness I tend to use different drill bit sizes. For really thin plastics (like the small bucket above) I used an 8mm drill bit. I would use 8.5mm for plastics up to 2mm thick and 9mm drill bit for thicker plastics like PVC pipe.

The first thing to do is to drill the hole. I find that you need to be careful with the thin buckets as the plastic can rip if the drill catches. Next you need to clean the swarf that is still attached to the hole. For this I use a utility knife, being careful not to cut into the hole itself or otherwise the seal around the dripper won't be water tight. The drippers can then be screwed in until the washer is tightly pressed against the base of the bucket. All that's left to do now is to add some water, check for leaks (which can be fixed with a few wraps of white plumbers tape) and hang in the chook pen :)

It won't take any time at all for the chooks to work out how to use them. It only took five to ten minutes before our girls had the feeder figured out. The feeder we use has been expanded to include another water station in their day pen. Both water feeders are now fed by two large reservoir tanks so the daily task of checking the girls' water now involves making sure a simple float valve works. Here's a clip on how ours is now set up that might help give you a few ideas:

That's about it for now. Have been flat out of late so the fish farm isn't quite finished as of yet but I am fairly sure that you will get to see it up and running in the next blog. ;)»
Hope you all have fun in the patch and until next month,

Rob : )»

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

10. From Last Month: Help With 'Cheep' Easter Goodies

Last month Aimee emailed us asking for ideas on celebrating Easter with her large family without spending a fortune:

"Now I have stopped working, I'm looking at ways to cut expenses. With Easter coming up, I need some ideas to give Easter gifts to my four children, their partners and my 13 grandchildren, aged from 2 to 19. I would normally just go and buy Easter eggs for everyone - last year this cost me over $250! I just can't afford to do that this year so would love to hear some crafty and clever ideas or recipes to cook, to give them this Easter."

We got some fantastic ideas for Aimee! Here are some of our favourite replies:

ALDI Easter bunnies good for a crowd

With a lot of people to buy Easter gifts for, I go to ALDI and buy their chocolate bunnies for $0.98c each. Not only are they cheap but the chocolate is really yummy and they are a decent size at around 18cm high. I buy these for my 26 volunteers at work as well. Great value!

Contributed by: Ellen D

A saucy Easter with help from Mimi

Who says you have to give chocolate eggs for Easter? A cheaper alternative which is just as nice is to make up a batch of Mimi's Chocolate Sauce for the adults. Add in some alcohol if you have some to make it even more grown up. For teachers and friends at Easter we make large chocolate freckles. First buy blocks of white, dark and milk chocolate, some multi-coloured sprinkles i.e 100s and 1000s or you can use coconut. Find three different sized circle shapes you can draw around, for example, egg cup, glass and so on and draw around them on sheets of baking paper cut to fit trays or large containers that will fit in your fridge. Melt your chocolate, spread thinly on the paper within the circles, sprinkle the sprinkles and put in the fridge. Once set (which doesn't take long as they are so thin) peel off the paper, put the chocolate freckles back in the fridge in another container and start again. You can get a LOT of freckles from one block of chocolate! To give to the recipient, put a mix of the different sizes and flavours in little cellophane bags and tie with curling ribbon or whatever you have to hand in your craft supplies. It's also a great activity to do with kids!

Contributed by: Samantha B

Vine Easter baskets

Our beautiful Easter baskets are pretty much free! This year we are making little Easter baskets with the children (5 years +). To make, first gather some bendy pittosporum or ivy vines or similar and form two circles. Attach them together to form a circle at right angles to each other. Next, lash together at their intersecting points using vine or wool. This forms the frame of the basket. Now wrap the bottom of the basket with weaving material or more vines running from side to side, wrapping around the top edge, going down and over or under the bottom seam and up and around the opposite edge. You can make them as tight or as loose as you wish but I have found the spaces easier to work with if they are a couple of centimetres apart. Continue weaving until your basket is ready. This is a wonderful activity to do with children and lovely to hold Easter eggs, not to mention other things afterwards!

Contributed by: Jane

Yummy Easter gifts for kids and adults

For a delicious and economical Easter gift for grown-ups, try this! First cover glace cherries with almond paste (or almond icing) then coat the cherry-almond balls with melted chocolate. You can make them look really impressive by popping them into mini cupcake cases, which are available from $2 shops. For the younger ones, chunky sized chocolate bars are better value for money than eggs. Watch for the '4 for $5.00' specials at the supermarkets and start stocking up now. Also if you are near a 'Reduced to Clear' or other discount store, you can pick up a range of chocolate goodies for much less than the usual supermarket prices. Today my local 'Reduced to Clear' has small mesh bags of Christmas chocolate baubles for $0.50c. Take the Christmas foil wrapping off and they can easily pass for Easter goodies!

Contributed by: Terri D

Home-made bunnies and baskets

Easter gifts don't have to cost a fortune! A few years back after one Easter I bought some rabbit chocolate moulds and every year since I make solid bunnies as gifts. Good quality chocolate is always on special leading up to Easter. I make paper Easter baskets to put the bunnies in too; there are heaps of instructions and videos for making these on the Internet. They cost next to nothing and look beautiful!

Contributed by: Elizabeth

Split the cost with an Easter picnic

An enjoyable and economical way to celebrate Easter is to host a 'family fun, bring your own plate' picnic. Ask different family members to contribute some eggs for a hunt and other activities. People love being involved in projects like this and appreciate one family member taking the initiative to organise it.

Contributed by: GoGo Goanna

Make an Easter bunny sock puppet

For a low-cost, chocolate-free Easter gift, here are some really easy sewing instructions for an Easter bunny sock puppet! (parenting.com/article/easter-bunny-sock-puppet)

Why not make a few and have a puppet show? At the end of the day they have a new companion to take to bed too!

Search Google for all sorts of crafts and free printables you can surprise the children with or do together. Make a basket up with pencils/craft supplies and some printables as a gift to keep them busy all Easter!

Contributed by: Wendy

'Magic Easter seeds' are priceless for kids

For a wonderful and memorable Easter treat, all you need is to buy a packet of Smarties and make each child an egg-shaped lollipop! The day before Easter, take the children into the garden and give them each an 'Easter Seed' (aka a Smartie) and ask them to plant it. Next morning, get up early and at each seed site, pop a lollipop into the garden like a flower. Voila! Magic Easter flowers! My grandmother did this for me one year and of all the Easters, I remember this one the best. RIP magic Grannie! I love you! Here's how to make the lollies:

You'll need 18 lollipop sticks

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
2 tsp glucose syrup (see note)
1/4 cup water
1 to 2 drops food colouring of choice

Line 2 large, flat baking trays with baking paper. Refrigerate until you're ready to use them.

Combine sugar, glucose syrup and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar is completely dissolved. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to the boil (do not stir).

Add food colouring and reduce heat to low. Boil gently for 12 minutes or until mixture has reached correct temperature. To test temperature, drop a small spoonful of sugar mixture into a glass of cold water. Allow to cool, then remove from water. The mixture is ready if the toffee is brittle (149°C to 154°C on a sugar thermometer). If not, continue boiling mixture and checking until toffee is brittle. Remove saucepan from heat.

Remove baking trays from fridge. Drop spoonsful of toffee onto baking trays. While mixture is still soft and warm, press a lollipop stick into the centre of each circle. You will need to work quickly before the toffee sets.

NB: Lollipop sticks are available from Spotlight stores and via Spotlight's mail order service. Glucose syrup, also known as liquid glucose, can be found in the health food section of large supermarkets or at health food stores.

Contributed by: Sandra D

Economical Easter gift bags

Personalised Easter bags are fun to make and cost little. Last year I bought a pack of 20 Easter cellophane bags for $2.00 at a discount shop. Then I made a batch of sugar cookies (you can make your own favourite biscuit recipe) using Easter theme cookie cutters and sprinkled the uncooked dough with 100's and 1000's to make them 'special'. To present them I shredded some new green A4 sheets of paper and put a little in each bag for 'grass'. I bought a kilo of chocolate mini eggs for $5.00 and put a few in each bag with the wrapped cookies. I then wrote a personal note from the Easter Bunny for each person and put that inside. It was fun to make up the bags and didn't take too long to do. The bags were tied up with any ribbon I had in my craft box and a simple name tag completed the job. These bags were then hidden for the recipients to find. All this cost less than $20 and was very well received!

Contributed by: Heather

Marshmallow Easter eggs fun to make with kids

You can buy marshmallow Easter eggs, but it's much more fun to make them! I used to make these with my grandchildren at Easter. Fill a shallow baking tray to the depth of about 15mm with cornflour. Make depressions in it with the back of a dessert spoon (this makes half an egg shape). Make a recipe for marshmallow - we used the Edmond's cookbook recipe - and pour it into the cornflour 'moulds'. When set remove the egg halves from the mould and dust off, then stick the halves together with melted chocolate to make a full egg shape and then coat the whole thing with more chocolate.

Contributed by: Jacqui

Decorate egg-shaped arrowroot biscuits for Easter

I have been using this tip from Family Circle for almost 20 years to save me money at Easter! For an economical treat, simply buy a packet of oval shaped Milk Arrowroot biscuits and decorate them with royal icing and sprinkles. You could use melted chocolate too if liked, be as creative as you like with what you have! They can't be done too far ahead or they'll go soft so keep them in an airtight container until the last minute, then grab some cellophane or cheap little containers, pop in a few 'eggs' and add a gift tag and you're done!

Contributed by: Kerrie S

11. This Month's Help Request:

Give Me a Hope Among the Gum Trees!

Lou has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I need some help working out how the second hand website Gumtree works. I have seen things for sale which I would like to buy but I'm not willing to pay the asking price. What I want to know is, can I ring and offer less? What are the best ways to buy things on Gumtree? I really need some tips and advice."

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Lou, please send them in to us here.

12. Goodbye for Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for April 2014 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to pass on the $21 Challenge ideas to any family or friends you think would benefit from saving money on their groceries.

Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

Don't forget to spread the love around to your family and friends too by forwarding them our newsletter or letting them know about our website. Help make their lives easier and save them money too! Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page.

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

April 2016 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - April 2016

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Caught Short
April: The Problem With Money
This Month's Competition: How Do YOU Keep Your Cash?
Last Month's Competition: Impossible Promises
Best of the Vault: Spend Less Than You Earn
Best of the Forum: A Little Determination Goes a Long Way
Best Members' Blog: Same Time Next Year?
Best of SS Facebook: Overcoming the Elements
Savings Story: Confessions of a Stay At Home Mum

Hi,

This month's calendar contains one of my favourite quotes by Charles Dickens:

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound nought and six, result misery."

I love this quote because even though money can't buy happiness, the harsh truth is, spending more than you earn does result in misery. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow - but sooner or later our bad decisions catch up with us.

The easiest way to ward off this misery is to keep your money in your pocket. But, keeping your money in your pocket can be very hard to do. So to make it a little easier, this month we are going to focus on all the different ways members manage to achieve it - me included!

I hope you have a lovely month.

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Caught Short

"Are you nearly ready, Sal? We've only got an hour!" Hanna chivvied her friend along. "Plenty of time! It doesn't take an hour to make a chicken salad," Sally rolled her eyes. "Just making sure I've got my purse. Right, let's go!" Every Friday, Sally and Hanna went for lunch together at their favourite café. It was their weekly treat and every week they ordered the same.

"Thai chicken salad and a large mochaccino?" smiled the waitress on seeing them. "You know me too well!" grinned Hanna. "That'll be $22.50 please," came the response. "What? Are you sure?" Hanna asked in alarm. "It's not usually that much!" "Sorry. Management's put the prices up," the waitress told her apologetically. "I don't have enough," Hanna frowned.

"What do you mean, you don't have enough?" asked Sally in disbelief. "I thought you were an amazing saver! Are you and John going through a tough patch?" She touched Hanna's arm, concerned. "No, not at all!" laughed Hanna. "It's just I only have $20 in my purse. It's all I ever carry on me when I'm out." Sally looked puzzled. "It's true," Hanna explained. "If I only carry $20, I can only spend $20. Guess I'll just have a toasted sandwich instead of the salad please, it's about time I tried something new!"

2. April: The Problem With Money

Why is spending less money than we earn SO difficult? Why do so many people struggle with it? The answer is simple:

We are under constant and continual pressure to spend. Our lives have blurred into one long, constant stream of sales pitches; on TV, on our mobiles, in magazines, on our computers, on the street, via telephone, in the supermarket, at lunch, at school, on the bus, on the train and at the movies. Wherever we go and whatever we do, someone is trying to get us to part with our money.

We all deal with this constant bombardment differently. These are the techniques that I have found work for me.

Out of sight, out of mind

The first thing I do is hide money from myself. I only ever have a tiny amount of money in my everyday savings account and only keep a small amount of money in my pocket. If I'm going out and know I'm going to need more money than that, I only transfer the amount I'm going to need.

Running out of money is okay

I often run out of money when I'm shopping and that is okay. When I have spent all I have in my wallet to spend, then I have reached my limit and that's fine with me. As long as I have petrol or a bus card to get home, it is fine to run out of money.

Stay cynical

Another thing I do is be constantly cynical. I never ever trust sales people/pitches/adverts. If someone says a product is going to make me more beautiful, smarter, fitter or healthier, I want proof. This especially applies to doctors, vets and dentists.

Returns on my investment

If I'm thinking of parting with my money I find myself thinking in a realistic world what sort of return I am going to get on my investment. Will it make me happier, will it bring more money or will it give me useful skills I can use to get my money back?

Grow a thick skin

When it comes to spending money it is important you do not care what others think of you. We need to be able to laugh, be sure of ourselves and shrug off social pressure.

We are told if we don't spend money we will be left behind. But in fact, the opposite is true; If we spend all our money - THEN we will be left behind. No matter how small your income, we want to help you to keep more of it in your pocket - starting right now!

3. This Month's Competition: How Do YOU Keep Your Cash?

Different saving strategies work for different people. Hanna limits the amount of cash she carries; I limit the amount available to me in my bank. This month we want to know what tricks YOU use to hang on to more of your money. What do you do to ensure you don't touch it or fritter it away? How much money do you manage to keep each month? What do you find is a good amount? How do you manage to spend less than you earn on a tiny income or a single wage, or with kids or a huge mortgage? The more tried and true solutions we can share together, the more people we can help to achieve happiness and avoid misery.

Send in your entries to us before midnight, May 15th. The winning entry will receive $100. We'd love to hear what works for you!

4. Last Month's Competition: Impossible Promises

Last month we asked everyone to keep their eyes peeled for the most ridiculous examples of advertising in the form of products which couldn't possibly deliver what they claimed. We knew you wouldn't disappoint - and you didn't! We received stacks of entries and had a hilarious time reading through all the impossible promises you came across in a single month. In fact, there were so many great entries that we couldn't pick just one winner! So, we are awarding a 12 month Vault membership to all the following runners up. See if you can spot your entry!

Starving kids!

I always wonder about the companies that sell ready-made meals delivered to your door. The ads always have the theme of a family with young children and the parents signing up to meal deliveries before cutting to the parents having lost weight and having so much more time to spend with the children because they don't have to cook. But what do the children eat? There is never any mention of meals for the children, and the parents say they don't cook now, so who is feeding them and what are they eating?! Makes no sense to me! Aside from the cost of ready-made meals, I always think the family meals where you cook and eat together are the best fun!

Cheryl Heslin

This product sucks!

The ad showed a whole bag full of stuff being vacuumed down small enough to fit into a suitcase. I have suitcases and thought, Wow, imagine how much stuff I could pack away!' I hesitated for a week and finally decided that it would be worth it. How wrong I was! The first bag wouldn't vacuum. The second bag did but then I discovered that it was way too big for my suitcase. Not to be beaten I put it in the linen press - it was still saving space! Or so I thought, however, by the next day the bag had puffed back up. Whilst I could have returned the goods for a full refund, the cost of returning them ruled out that choice. A lesson well learned! I have never given into temptation from TV ads since and I have only ever bought one thing from the internet which did what it promised to!

Sharron Hillman

For your bottom, from my heart

According to the ads, buying and using Huggies nappies makes you a better, more patient parent and proves you love your kid more than someone who uses inferior nappies!

Kristin Holt

A perfect room for a perfect child

If there's one promise that is impossible it is kids' stylish room makeovers. They look great, the room is clean and tidy and everything has a place. It looks so fantastic that it makes you want to go and get all the matching pieces, so your house will look as good. Of course the reality is, once the kids are in there for a few hours they don't look like that!

Danielle Quinn

Putting the fizz into relationships

Coca Cola is at it again. Have you seen its latest television commercial with the loved up couple who share every passionate moment with a bottle of Coke, only to find that when conflict arises in the relationship (symbolised by a smashing bottle of Coke on the floor), they are suddenly alone? But not for long - that magic bottle suddenly appears once again in the hand of the handsome Romeo to find that his gorgeous lady can't resist the 'Coke' and the relationship is reignited!

Michelle Finch

The joys of toys

I find that adverts for children's toys or games show lots of happy family time and hours of entertainment. In reality, however, the kids look at them for around 30 seconds (while Daddy sits on the sofa with a beer, surfing the internet) before tossing them aside and moving onto something else. Before you know it, all the pieces of that new toy are scattered around the house such that they become just clutter and can never be used again (until, of course, you step on one of those sharp pieces on your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, cursing that advert that made you buy it in the first place)!

Sophie

Fall at your feet? Not quite!

My mum bought one of the new Scholl foot products, from the ads which imply other women will fall over while marvelling over your gloriously kept nails. So far I've managed to stay upright when I visit!

Erin Holden

Want to cook like Nigella? Get a new fridge!

In the Sunday Mail there is an ad for Fisher and Paykel's Izona CoolDrawer Fridge, in which it states it will make your kitchen as stylish as Nigella's and hopefully your cooking just as good. Well I doubt that my 42-year-old kitchen will look as stylish as Nigella's just by the addition of a new fridge. As for the cooking being just as good, I think that very unlikely too - but doesn't Nigella spend most of her time lurking in the pantry looking through her herbs and spices rather than looking in her fridge anyway?

Yvonne Zemdegs

Muesli bars give you super powers!

I bought a box of "Nice & Natural" super grain muesli bars. Does anyone really think that they are going to get a cape and super powers? It sure gave me a smile when I was packing the family lunch boxes!

Carrie Taylor

Where are all the super models hiding?!

I've been using Lynx deodorant for twenty years now, and not a single super model has ever fallen out of the sky, driven out of her way, or materialised on the bus next to me! Maybe I just need to spray more on (and maybe the extra spray explains why teenage boys smell the way they do?).

Jacob Aldridge

The secret to being a 'real man'

My favourite impossible promise is the 'Old Spice' commercial implying that you will be a 'real man' if you use Old Spice Body Wash.

Tahnee Hrelja

Defy age easily - use a youngster!

The best example of impossible promises have to be advertisements by the cosmetic companies to promote skin care products which claim to be 'age-defying' using models aged under 25!

Maralin Econ

A whole array of impossible promises

Ads for face products always give me a laugh. Often the model or 'everyday person' is either 13 years old, Photo-shopped or has had extreme plastic surgery or botox. Whilst I do sometimes find myself thinking 'ooh, that looks fantastic, maybe I should try some?', the sensible side always kicks in and says WASTE OF MONEY!
I clean houses for a living and love it. The ads that amaze me are the ones that say 'spray it on, wash it off and all is sparklingly clean'. I have used every product out there as I find the client has them in the cupboard. Not one does this for me so that I can sit and have coffee, smile or dance my way through the day. They all need at least a little bit of elbow grease!
Years ago there was an ad for Impulse body spray. If you wore it men were supposed to run up to you on the street to give you flowers. I wore that stuff for ages BUT no flowers!

Sharron Callandar

And, the overall winner is Julie Darby with this ad that makes her want to throw something at the TV every time she sees it. We couldn't agree more Julie!

No need to work out, just rub it in!

I think my all-time favourite for absolute codswallop (and that's a polite way of putting it!) is the TV ad for Nivea Q10 Firming Lotion. Nivea have now uploaded the ad to Youtube, here.

I don't think I've ever seen an ad which contains such a load of garbage as this one - it opens with footage of a VERY fit and toned young woman working out - someone who quite obviously hasn't a speck of cellulite and absolutely no need whatsoever for any kind of firming lotion. But what about the days you can't work out? Simple, says the ad, just use this lotion and (it infers) it's just as good as a workout for toning up - and can give you firmer-looking skin in just TWO WEEKS! Yes folks, just two weeks. We're also treated to shots of this young woman twirling around in a chair and prancing along the street in a short, short dress, and the final straw is seeing her slapping her pert bottom whilst admiring herself in the mirror as the voice-over spouts this nonsense. What is this cream - magic? It can't possibly give results like the ones (supposedly) shown in the ad, and in a fortnight?! Seriously... what an insult to the intelligence this ad is!

Julie wins herself $100 for her entry - guess we know one thing she WON'T be buying with it! Thank you to everyone for sending in all your fabulous entries. Just goes to show, it takes more than clever advertising and sneaky marketing to pull the wool over a Simple Saver's eyes!

5. Best of the Vault: Living Within Our Means

For many people, the thought of EVER being able to have enough money to put any aside seems downright impossible. Fortunately these tips from the Vault and countless others like them are living proof that it really is possible. Why not give some of these a go for yourself?

'Cash only' system better late than never!

I am saving more money than ever before since I switched to using cash only! I cancelled all cards which were attached to my accounts and no longer have a bank account with card access. On pension day, I make BPAY payments on my phone/Internet, power, gas and water accounts. I have automatic transfers of money into my savings accounts; this is a set amount every fortnight. I then go to the bank and withdraw the money I will need for the next two weeks. This consists of money for rent, petrol, medications, pets, groceries and then some pocket money for me. I put these into individually labelled resealable bags, which I keep in a zippered pencil case in my bag, and my spending money goes in my purse. I often have money left in my bags, but I still withdraw the same amount every fortnight. This allows me to grab specials and the occasional treat. Any money that is left in my normal account at the end of the fortnight, I transfer into my savings account the evening before pension day.

I have read and tried so many hints and tips on how to budget your money but this one has proved to be the perfect one for me. The amount of money I now save is amazing. I sometimes think that if I had only used this system when my children were little, I would be a rich woman by now, or at least a well-travelled one!

Contributed by: Gusta T

'No bonus' mentality buys our wildest dreams for free!

Pretending my husband didn't get a bonus and living accordingly has meant we can afford luxuries beyond our wildest dreams with zero effort! Over 12 months ago, hubby received a rather nice pay increase. However, we decided rather than use it and incorporate it into our everyday living, we would continue to live on the same amount as before and put the amount of the new increase into savings, for any luxuries we may want further down the track. In this short time alone my hubby and son have got to go to the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne and my daughter and I have got to enjoy a 10 night cruise to the Pacific Islands, complete with spending money! It's amazing how it adds up and it's money we don't miss at all!

Contributed by: Carole Watson

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.

Contributed by: Catherine Eve

Kids become bankers in 'cash-only' family

Our family has come up with a fantastic budgeting system, where the kids are the 'bankers'! We have become a 'completely cash' family. This means that we worked out what cash we need to put aside every week and we withdraw only that amount. I have a card in my wallet that has the note denominations on it, for example, three x $50, six x $10 and so on. When I get home, I give the whole lot to our boys aged six and eight and ask them to 'do the budget tin'. We have a money tin with resealable plastic bags in it, which all have category names and amounts on them. The boys go through and meter the money out, putting, for example, $15 in the family entertainment bag, $40 in the Christmas bag and so on. They then give their father and I our allocation for petrol and groceries and they keep out their pocket money. When we want money for clothing, holidays, birthdays or DVD and pizza nights we go to the bags and get what we need. The boys are learning the value of money and we always have cash on hand. We now feel so rich because we are so much more careful when we can actually see the notes. It's the most successful system we have ever used!

Contributed by: Michelle

Avoid doing the Twenty Dollar Tango!

I am saving over $2,000 a year by placing visual reminders around the house to help me stop making spontaneous purchases at the mall.

I was spending $20 here and there on things that I didn't really need, telling myself that the blouse, CD, book or thing I was buying was a bargain at just 20 or so dollars. This habit was costing around $40 a week!

To break it, I dug out a couple of these so-called 'bargains' and left them out on the table to remind me of the money I had wasted. Then I stuck a photo of Fiji on the fridge to represent the holiday I could have spent the money on instead.

Since then, every time I am in a shop and find myself tempted to buy something I don't really need, I close my eyes and visualise the unnecessary items on the table, then visualise myself sitting by the pool in a Fijian resort. It's a simple trick, but the temptation vanishes with the blink of an eye!

I estimate that this saves me around $2,080 a year. Last year this was enough for my husband and I to have that holiday in Fiji, and this year we went to New York.

Saving in this way makes me feel so good that I have cut spending in other areas too. It's wonderful that without feeling deprived we've been able to enrich our lives with travel experiences we never thought we could afford.

Contributed by: Eve

6. Best of the Forum: A Little Determination Goes a Long Way

Is it a realistic expectation to consistently be able to spend less than we earn? These savvy Forum members all say YES! All it takes is a little effort and determination. Jump on in to some of these threads and be inspired.

Living on $20,000 per year or under!

Saffy is determined to do whatever it takes to live close to the line and achieve her dreams. Find out how she does it and gain heaps of valuable tips from other members too!
read more...

Reducing day by day

Knighty is absolutely horrified to see in black and white how much her household spends every day. She has adopted a new 'day by day' approach to getting their spending down to a minimum - and it's working!
read more...

Living the SS way to clear debt and live well

Simplymum is a super busy solo mum of three. She's got more than her fair share of challenges - but she also has plenty of goals she's determined to reach!
read more...

Building up that resilience to cope with what life throws

Seachange has many dreams for her family. There's just one thing she's worried about getting in the way of those dreams - it's called Murphy's Law! How do you get ahead when life has a habit of throwing a spanner in the works? This thread has some valuable suggestions.
read more...

7. Best Member's Blog: Same Time Next Year?

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top right, then 'Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is ValueEveryCent with her post 'Same Time Next Year?'

"When I was a child my mother took me to see the movie above.

It was basically a laugh at how this couple met for 20 years at the same time each year. The main lead made everyone in her life the same jumper to wear. The movie was a bit like 'Groundhog Day', doing the same thing day after day, year after year!

Anyway this is not the point but mainly stealing the name because nothing I hate more each year is to be the same, be it financially, physically, emotionally or spiritually!

I like change but slow change. Sometimes it doesn't work this way... just my approach.

I am asking you today, will I see you back on SS in another year's time, two years', maybe five, doing the same old thing, making the same old goals etc?

Is this your future?

We have all set our goals on various threads and so I am inviting you to please share any successes you have had so far this year. We made a lot of promises to ourselves and others but what can you tell me that will not be the same for you now and next year?

Please share any successes that you feel pleased about, doesn't matter how small or big.

For me, I know I tend to slow down throughout the year as my energy seems to go.

I made a lot of goals at New Year and I have started off well.

Completed Goals... Never to be the Same Again

I have de-cluttered the pantry at long last (this was such a big relief).
Recently lost half a kilo, that hopefully will lead to more losses and next year I won't be this weight again (this never ends, it seems like a life time job).
I have done two council clean-ups removing unwanted waste.
Started a blog, 'My Frugal Kitchen'.
Commenced re-reading books and giving away unwanted ones.
Changed my hair colour.
And a really big one for me was... I am hopeless at gardening and don't know where to start, so what did I do? Found someone's garden that I admire and honestly I copied it and it looks great. It was fairly easy to achieve and is low maintenance.
Did a re-styling of my house from op shop buys. This was a real budget makeover but looks great.

Currently in Process of Change

About to start a thread called 'Cut Up Your Credit Card for Good!' This I want gone for next year.
I want to have all my old photos printed. I was having a lot of trouble accessing them so now that I have worked out what to do, I will work through getting them printed and nicely filed away.
I would like to give more attention to writing up of daily meal plans and also better organise bills. I recently had time payment cards sent to me so I can do bill paying fortnightly. File everything neatly and in order.
That's it at this stage as I don't want to have too many that I don't do any!

Remember this:

What You Give Attention to Expands!

This is very powerful and I think you all know this.

So what will not be the same for you next year?

Hope this might be a good shake up for some and also hoping those who have not been able to brainstorm ideas or know how to obtain what they want might care to share. Perhaps others may be able to help!

I was floored recently when I read someone on the forum had given up smoking. Could you imagine that - the change to your life, health and financial situation? I was really blown away by that achievement!

Thank you for sharing, ValueEveryCent - and all the best with achieving your goals!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

8. Best of SS Facebook: Overcoming the Elements

Love Facebook or hate it, the Simple Savers Facebook page is a great way to learn even more tips and enjoy reading of other members' successes. One of our favourite posts this month comes from Bec, who may not be the most successful vegie gardener yet - but she's not giving up!

"I have a confession to make. Despite holding a Cert IV in Horticulture and knowing a heck of a lot about gardening, pest control and landscaping... I can't grow vegetables!

Many years ago, I lived in NZ and had the most wonderful garden... tomatoes and potatoes sprouting randomly in my compost heap, a lush and green fernery, a herb garden planted with about 12 different herbs, a vegie garden full of cauliflowers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, peas etc. The yard was lined with happy native plants for the wildlife to scurry in... it was amazing.

Ever since moving to Australia the climate and bug life has thwarted me at every turn. The bugs are supersized, the sun is too hot, the rain too torrential. There are hordes of man-eating grasshoppers that destroy seedlings overnight. The humidity encourages all the fungal and bacterial pathogens to flourish. There are possums and birds that take anything remotely tasty before I've had a chance to harvest it. The 30m gum tree in our yard made the soil acidic and didn't let through enough sun for anything to grow other than weeds. Under that acidic soil is clay, and then rock, barely one metre below the surface. I have tried and tried and tried and just cannot keep anything alive. It's an embarrassment! We have spent so much hard earned money digging out the clay, adding soil conditioners, building raised beds, buying soil, buying plants, seeds, staking things, making protective covers/cages/fences... within a single season it all gets inundated with disease, destroyed by bugs or killed by a combination of weather and forgetfulness.

On the bright side, our yard does have abundant wildlife, birdlife and native bees.

I'm going to give it one last go. I have a watering system in place, am doing some soil testing to make darn sure the pH is correct and all nutrients therefore available to the plants. We have removed the offending gum tree (it was looking dodgy anyway according to the arbourist, and would have landed on our bedroom if it came down in a storm), I have a coop full of chook poo and it's the perfect time of year for planting.

THIS DARNED SUB-TROPICAL CLIMATE WILL NOT GET THE BETTER OF ME!"

Good on you, Bec, we wish you all the best with your mission!

Joining our busy Facebook community is super easy. Either search up 'Simple Savers' on Facebook or click this link and request to join. Once you're in, let the fun begin!

9. Savings Story: Confessions of a Stay At Home Mum

I can hardly believe it but we have an extra $2,000 sitting in our savings account! I have been a stay at home mum for 18 months. My husband earns a slightly above average salary, which allows me to stay at home with our son. We have a modest home, with modest furnishings and modest tastes. We haven't really had a financial plan since we got married two and a half years ago and have just been cruising along, saving a bit some months and spending it other months.

When I first left work I had full intentions of making a budget, planning our meals, organising our lives and generally being on the ball with our finances. Each month when pay day rolled around, I would say 'this is the month where I get organised!' But it never happened. I am the first to admit that I have been lazy, unmotivated, complacent and ostrich-like. I have been a member of Simple Savings for over a year and always thought we were doing OK and didn't really need to know all these ways to save money. I had heard of the $21 Challenge but wasn't really motivated to try it and we were ticking along as usual - until last month.

With baby number two arriving in three months we needed extra storage space so we extended our garage to make room for all our stuff. This extension made a dent in the savings account which although we knew it would, was quite depressing to see the balance dropping and dropping and not going back up. Lo and behold, motivation began creeping in!

I downloaded all our bank transactions for the month and was horrified to find that I had spent an average of nearly $260 per week on groceries for two adults and one toddler. There were lots of other things I was also horrified to see but I started with the groceries as it seemed easiest. Motivation knocked harder. I decided to take charge!

I read the first two chapters of the $21 Challenge on the website, put a copy of the book on my library request list and did a stocktake of my pantry, fridge and freezer. Imagine my shock when I discovered I had enough ingredients to plan meals for the next 19 days! That's not counting meals like scrambled eggs, pumpkin soup and the emergency baked beans on toast. We had enough food in the house to live on for over three weeks! We just needed fresh fruit and vegies and that was about it. I didn't quite make $21 but my first grocery shop after doing the stocktake came to $61, down from $258 per week the previous month.

From then on I watched the bank account like a hawk and knew where every cent went. In previous months when the bank account got low, I would simply pull out the credit card and pay it off on pay day but not this month! This month it stayed in my wallet.

It's pay day again tomorrow and guess what? I have spent an average of $160 per week on groceries, saving us nearly $100 per week. By being aware and thinking to myself 'do I really need that?' and deciding 'no', the savings account has increased by a whopping $2,250! That figure makes me weak at the knees! I can't honestly say where the money has been going before now. We don't have the latest gadgets, appliances or clothing. I am truly at a loss BUT I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself right now! At the same time, I feel a bit sick that I didn't do this 18 months ago, or even 12 or six months ago, but I've done it now. I am motivated to change my ways. I have goals. I have the energy to do this and I have Simple Savings to thank for giving me the tools to continue saving. THANK YOU!

Contributed by: Rochelle Weston-Arnold

10. Goodbye For Now

We hope you have found this month's newsletter helpful. Don't forget to enter our competition with your favourite 'how I keep my money' strategy! Send your entries in to us to be in to win. One competition which never changes is our 'Hint of the Week' competition. Simply send in your favourite money saving tip (you can enter as many times as you like) and you could win a 12-month membership to the Vault. We really appreciate each and every tip we receive. That's all for now, have a fantastic month holding on to more of your money!

All the best,
Fiona

August 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - August 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: A Place for Everything
September is 100 Item Challenge
Fiona's Fab FREE Lippey Labels!
Father's Day Gifts
Best of the Forum: Declutter Your Life
Best of the Vault: Clever Cleanout Tips
$21 Challenge Confession
Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Great Expectations
Homeopathy Corner: Jump Start Your Mind
From Last Month: Affordable Office Furniture
This Month's Help Request: Whittling Away Our Inheritance
Savings Story: Confessions of a Stay at Home Mum

Hello,

How are you doing? It's been an exciting month in our house. Tristan turned three and Elora had her first day at child care! Forgive me for sounding like a bad mummy but I am really relishing my one day of solitude a week. It's heaven!

Decluttering Month couldn't have come at a better time for me. Now I can sort through the house on my own (MWUHAAHAAA!) and clash and bang my way through boxes to my heart's content without fear of waking the baby (DOUBLE MWUHAHAAAA!).

How did you go with last month's From The Yard Challenge? We had a ball in the garden and ate something we grew ourselves almost every day. How cool is that?

Speaking of cool, a little while back we had the pleasure of meeting a very nice journalist called Fenella Souter. She stayed with us for a couple of days and got to experience living the Simple Savings way first hand. The result was a magnificent article which was featured in last week's Good Weekend.

There is one thing Fenella wrote that really stuck in my mind, "the shop 'til you drop philosophy is like fiddling while Rome burns" and this is so true. It made me realise how important Simple Savings is and how important YOU are. So thank you, Fenella for reminding Matt and I that Simple Savings really is about so much more than just saving money!

"I have just read through the latest newsletter with gusto as we are moving into our new house in November where I am planning on starting my first vegie patch. I also wanted to have a few chickens. My husband, however, thought this was crazy and impossible in a normal western suburb of Perth (rather than a large property/farm/rural area). Well! Have I got some news for him! Not only can we have chickens but he will never have to buy fertiliser for his beloved new lawn either! I've also always wanted my children to see where fresh food really comes from and I now feel I can give them that, along with a fun Sunday project building a chicken tractor with Mum and their first ever pets!

"All I can think now is 'Why ever did I let my membership lapse?' I must have been crazy. I love SS and thank you for such a timely reminder of how valuable you were in my life before, and still are now." (Tanya Dell)

"I just had to tell you a story which really made me laugh. I have five children, we shop only once a month and am careful to space all our food and treats out over the month. Whenever the whinging starts, that 'there are no biscuits, school snacks' and so on, I just tell the kids, 'we will just have to make do'. One day I arrived home to find my daughter (12) had been baking biscuits. They smelled delicious and I asked what they were. She said they were 'Doos'. 'What?' I asked. 'Doos!' she repeated. 'You always said if there was nothing in the cupboard, to 'make do', so I made Doos!' she told me. We now call these humble biscuits 'Doos' and I couldn't have been prouder. Whenever we think our parenting has a lot to be desired, remember - good things do rub off too!" (Jenny Cuffe)

"I was so excited to see Mimi in the newsletter as the new Simple Savings cook. I have always loved her recipes (I am a poached chicken fanatic) and have been an avid reader of her Fabulous at 50 thread in the Forum. Now I have seen Mimi's picture (in last month's newsletter), I don't consider that she needs any help in being fabulous - she is beautiful from her bright shining eyes to her gorgeous smile and I just love her hair! It's so lovely to put a face to a name and I'm really looking forward to reading more recipes in the coming newsletters." (Clover)

All the best, Fiona Lippey

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: A Place for Everything

Sally was glad to be home. It had been such a hectic day at work! She couldn't wait to get dinner out of the way and curl up on the couch. The kids were home; she knew that by the pile of shoes and school bags she had almost tripped over when she came in. That, along with the puddle of orange juice and the jar of peanut butter with the knife still sticking out of it on the kitchen bench.

It was the same every day. Sally knew what she would find. Towels strewn across the bathroom floor. Beds unmade. Dirty cups, plates and glasses all over the house. Toys and games never put away - and the washing! What did it take to get everyone to put their own clothes away? Sally didn't need this after the day she'd had. It was time to let them have it!

She found Pete and the kids in the lounge, surrounded by clutter. 'THIS PLACE IS A PIGSTY!' she shouted. 'Why can't you clear up after yourselves? Why do I have to do everything MYSELF?' 'Hey, calm down, love!' Pete put down his newspaper. 'You don't have to do everything! We'll clean up. Come on kids, quick smart!' he jumped up. 'Now Sarah, where does this go?' 'I don't know Dad!' she said. 'James, do you know where this goes?' 'Nope!' came the reply. Pete gazed at his children in alarm. 'Do you two know where ANYTHING is supposed to go?'

2. September is 100 Item Challenge

Parents are always growling at their kids to 'clean up after themselves' and 'put this or that away'. It's frustrating when they don't put things back exactly where we want but think about it for a minute. Do they actually know where their things belong? Have you ever shown them? Or like Sally, do you fly around like a whirlwind cleaning up after everyone else and just expect them to KNOW where you want everything to go? If you're nodding your head while you're reading this, maybe you need a new cleaning system!

Before I explain how this new system works I need to tell you about an argument my husband Matt and I have had for many years. And how, after many years of telling him he is wrong, I have to eat humble pie and finally admit he was right. There, I said it!

You see, time and time again, Matt said that we had too much stuff in our house and the best way to clean it was with a mini skip. He said we should jack the house up on one end and shake it so that all the stuff falls out the window and lands straight in the skip. I told him that he was wrong and that his expectations were simply too high. After all, we have four children and live in a two bedroom house. As far as I was concerned the amount of stuff we had was not to blame for our domestic chaos. The problem was that we hadn't done a good enough job of teaching the children how to clean up after themselves.

Which is where my argument came unstuck. The reason the kids were lousy at cleaning up after themselves is they got confused because - as Matt said all along - we had too much stuff! (I hate it when my husband is right.) I have watched the kids try to clean, they start by picking up an item and then stare around blankly trying to figure out where it should go. Before long the stress of this freezes their brains and icicles start dangling from the end of their noses!

Matt also says that the problem isn't just that we had too much stuff; it was also that every item needed to have a place. Whilst I did agree, I had tried doing this in the past to no avail. I would try giving items a 'place', only to find as soon as it was taken out someone else would spy a blank spot on the shelf and quickly fill it with something else.

But no more! Welcome to Matt's favourite month of the whole year - Decluttering Month! You see, Matt has the librarian gene. He grew up in an ordered and structured home. His mum is even a librarian! So for decluttering month, I have made a system to turn my house into a library. Just like a library, every shelf, box and drawer is being labelled. Everything will have a place. If anything doesn't have a place in the home, it will be given a place in our wheelie bin, or sold or given away. And, just like a library, we will set up and teach the kids a system everyone can follow. Labelling every shelf in our house seems so anal. But, I have started doing it. Because I love Matt and (on this occasion anyway) he is right.

If you would like to join us on this mission to regain control of the house and teaching other householders to clean up after themselves. This is what we are doing.

Label every shelf, drawer and box. I went and bought myself a Dymo label maker from Officeworks on special for $39.
Label items with labels EVERYONE in the household can understand. You will learn more about this in the next article.
Show the kids how the labels work. The kids need to understand what is happening and why. You need to teach them how to put away just one item or one simple instruction at a time. Baby steps are the key here.
Refuse to put other people's things away. This is very important. You see in the past, I used to pick up the kids' things and put them on the shelf. This taught the kids that they could be slobs without any consequences. Well, no more. We have introduced consequences! Now I simply stand next to the item, call the child, interrupt their day the way their mess is interrupting mine, make them come over, pick up the item and put it where it belongs. If the child refuses, I then give them the following explanation. 'By leaving the item on the floor you are telling me that it is not valuable to you and you are happy for me to find a new home for it'. (Code for Mum sends it to the op shop or wheelie bin. TRIPLE MWUHAHAAAA!) The first time I took an item and found it a new home it was VERY NOISY. Three children came to their item's defence! But the wonderful thing about children is they are fast learners and the second time I asked them to put an item away, they did it.

So this is how it is done. If you would like to start librarising your home we have made you some cool labels. So even the smallest munchkins can help clean up.

3. Fiona's Fab FREE Lippey Labels!

One of my important jobs as a mother is to teach my kids how to clean. Luckily I learned some very handy tips from a Montessori school, where my kids spent two years. The first is that youth is no excuse. Children as young as 12 months can clean. A two-year-old can put their own clothes away, empty the dishwasher and tidy up their toys if you make it easy for them. To make it easy for your children we have made you some free labels that the kids will be able to read and understand to attach to their toy boxes and clothes drawers. To help build your child's self esteem it is important to help them feel in control of their own room and of the cleaning process. So we have made them sheets of cool looking printable labels which they can colour in however they like. This way they can put their own personal stamp on the boxes, so it is not just you as a parent forcing cleanliness and order into their room. The labels we have created here have been dreamed up by the Simple Savings staff and their children. If you think we are missing any and you want others, please write in and tell us. Creating these labels was a pretty expensive exercise, so if you like them please tell your friends about them and how cool the Simple Savings Vault is. If enough people tell their friends and buy a Vault membership we will be able to pay for an illustrator to do more cool labels!

Here are the ones we have so far:

Kids' clothing drawer labels

I love these labels because they have trained my children into putting away their own clothes. Even tiny Tristan puts his clothes away. I put a label on the front of the drawer and another inside the drawer. This way, even when the drawer is empty he can still follow the system!

Click the image to download a 200Kb PDF

Kids' toy box labels

These are a lifesaver! We have tried to include a good range of generic toy labels so that they will work in everyone's home.

Click the image to download a 470Kb PDF

Just download the PDFs, print them off, get the kids to colour them in and put them up. Goodbye messy madness, hello easy-clean house!

4. Father's Day Gifts

Father's Day is just a few days away! Since it is Decluttering Month, the kids and I have made Matt something consumable that he will enjoy, consume and not need to find a place on the shelf for.

Here are some simple gifts the kids can make that Daddy will really appreciate.

Coffee freckles

This recipe was originally supposed to be a 'sophisticated' adult, 'after dinner' type treat for my brother-in-law. However, when Jacqui and Tristan caught me making them they insisted on adding 'sprinkles', turning this recipe into a perfect Father's Day gift! It's easy for the kids to make, looks fantastic and has a tasty twist to wake up Dad on Father's Day morning!

Equipment:

Bowl
Biscuit tray
Grease proof paper
Teaspoon

Ingredients:

250g block dark chocolate
1 tsp vegetable oil (Macadamia is my favourite)
1 tbsp finely ground coffee
1/4 cup sprinkles

Method:

Start by putting your grease proof paper on your biscuit tray. Then grab yourself a bowl, break up the chocolate and throw it in the bowl with the oil. Melt the chocolate and oil in the microwave by cooking for 30 seconds at a time and stirring in between. When the chocolate is melted, stir in your ground coffee. Place dollops of mixture onto the lined baking tray. Sprinkle with sprinkles and pop in the fridge to set. Once set, put them in a container and HIDE THEM!

DIY gift bags

We also made little bags for the chocolates to go in. The recipe above will give you enough chocolates to fill three bags. Enough for Dad and both grandfathers.

Star bag

Click the image to download a 20Kb PDF

As before, just print, colour, cut, fold and glue. Be sure to glue the flaps to the inside of the bag so no one can see them!

5. Best of the Forum: Declutter Your Life

We've said it before and we'll say it again, one of the biggest keys to saving money is organisation - and with organisation comes less clutter! Simple Savings members are wonderful declutterers. Check out some of these great Forum discussions to get in the mood for bringing a little order back into your home!

The Most August Glorious One month Declutter

Welcome fellow chucker outers, recyclers, Freecyclers and obsessive cleaner outers! Join GoGo Goanna, Mrs Wez and many other enthusiastic members as they clean up a storm!
read more...

Has anyone scaled back to basic possessions?

As Rickety points out in this interesting discussion, there is decluttering (such as getting rid of five pairs of shoes when there are still 17 pairs left in the cupboard) - and then there is DECLUTTERING! As she and others learn in this thread, it is definitely possible to live with the bare minimum.
read more...

Motivation! Play the dice game to get things done!

Want to declutter but don't know where to start? This thread will help you on your way! There's never been a more fun way to get organized!
read more...

What have you FOUND by decluttering?

Once you start decluttering you not only get to enjoy a tidier home but you can also uncover lots of long forgotten wee gems, as Northen Gal and her hubby found out!
read more...

Is decluttering really worth it?

Why do people spend so much time worrying about having too much stuff? How much is really too much? And is it really worth getting rid of the stuff you have? All these questions and more are answered here!
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: Clever Cleanout Tips

Don't let clutter get you down! These brilliant tips from the Vault will help you make some serious headway in your decluttering - as well as deter you from acquiring any more!

Clutter-free home will stop you acquiring more

Curb your spending and spend less time shopping by focussing on decluttering your home instead. It will really show up how much you already have, and that you probably don't need to acquire more. Here are some tips that helped me:

Don't buy anything non-essential until you have dealt with what you already have. When you do buy something, throw out or give away another item of equal size.
Imagine what you want each room in your house to look like, and the life you want to live. Every time you want to buy something, ask yourself if it fits this image.
Start by clearing away surface clutter. Set a timer for five minutes a day of high-speed tidying where you grab a bag and fill it with things you don't need, like unopened junk mail, empty containers etc. Set yourself a challenge to find at least 20 items.
You can't own more than will fit in the space you have, so balance what you own with what room you have.
Set yourself a decluttering plan, working through your house room by room, cupboard by cupboard. Try to set a little time aside for this every day for a month, and don't pull out more than you can sort through and put away within an hour unless you have more time set aside.
Get your family to help with harder areas, such as the garage, and help each other sort your own personal areas.
Once you have cleared the clutter, maintain this on a weekly basis.

Contributed by: Kym Maloney

Online help for new declutterers

For those who are new to decluttering, free expert help is at hand! Decluttering comes naturally to some people, but to some it does NOT. Even thinking about tackling the big mess that is our home is enough to bring out a panic attack! However, a few years back, I bought a book called 'The New Messies Manual' by Sandra Felton. I learned all about 'messies' and 'cleanies' and strategies for how a messie like me can not only organise the home but KEEP it organised. I have since discovered they have a website (http://www.messies.com) with all sorts of links to other helpful decluttering and organisation sites too. Check it out!

Contributed by: Clair Niven

100% effective 'No More Clutter' deterrent!

I have come up with a simple yet super effective way of making sure I never waste any more money on clutter! I'm a sucker for buying toys for my children. Consequently I am now drowning in broken toys, clutter and debt. But now when I'm in the department stores and see something on special or think, 'my girls would love that', I open up my bag and get out my deterrent! I look at the photos I have taken of my lounge covered in toys and clutter and remember that not am I only saving money by not buying more, I am also saving the planet - and my sanity! Works every time!

Contributed by: Jubes

Unnecessary kitchen appliances

Do you really need these house-cluttering, money-wasting, used once in a lifetime kitchen appliances?

Pie maker
Popcorn maker
Hotdog maker
Sandwich press

Of course you don't! Our mothers and grandmothers didn't have these appliances yet they still managed to make all of these things. Pies in the oven. Popcorn in the microwave or on the stove. Hotdogs in a pot. Toasted sandwiches grilled in the oven.

If you have already bought the kitchen appliances on my list, cut the clutter and earn a few bucks by selling them in a garage sale. Then, get back to real cooking!

Contributed by: Kimberley Headford

Avoid re-cluttering

I am busy decluttering the toys and clothing that belong to my four daughters and, at the same time, I am thinking how I can avoid re-cluttering!

With Christmas approaching, I have begun to compile a list of appropriate gifts that we and our relatives can give to the kids. Included on my list are gift ideas that are more than just 'stuff'. For example, we are heading to the Gold Coast for a family holiday next year, so we have asked relatives for tickets to Sea World. This will save us admission prices of $324!

I have also suggested vouchers for painting lessons from a talented grandmother. Ideas like this use the resources and talents in our family, and helps avoid dreaded re-clutter!

Contributed by: Kathryn Hartley

Clutter-free and organised

I have found a way to reduce clutter, which allows me to find exactly what I'm looking for in a moment.

I have assigned an A4 ring binder to each of my four children, and myself. The binder has about 20 plastic sleeves; in these I place paper work associated with the corresponding person. It could be things like bank accounts, medical or dental history and important school information. The older children and I also keep car registration details and insurance documents in the binder, as well as employment and taxation details.

The binders are filed away in a safe but accessible location, so everyone knows where to find their personal information. For tidy filing, I recommend cardboard cabinets which are sold at major retailers like Kmart.

Contributed by: Maxine Valentine

Purse-free - clutter-free Contributed by: Sonya Gibson

House for sale mentality keeps house clean Contributed by: Lew Harpelle

Paper declutter saves hundreds Contributed by: Clutterhen

A not so essential item Contributed by: Alisa Allison

7. $21 Challenge Confession

This month I have a bit of an embarrassing confession to make. I love our local library and confess to recently looking on their website to see if they had bought a copy of The $21 Challenge and if anyone borrowed it. You see, I had been secretly tossing and turning at night, convinced that if the library had bought one it was probably just sitting on the shelf unloved and unused, soon to head to the bargain sale table.

So you have no idea how relieved I was when I discovered our local libraries had bought six copies and they were all out on loan - with another six people waiting for the copies to be returned!

I can hardly believe that 12 months after the launch of the $21 Challenge book, every copy in the library is still out. That is pretty cool! And, very hard to believe.

If you don't want to wait in the library queue please ask your local library to order more, or ask one of your friends to buy it for you as a present. If you would like a signed copy please order it from here a week or two before you need it because with four kiddies in tow it is hard to sign books every day.

P.S. Two chapters of the $21 Challenge book are still available to read on the Simple Savings site, or you can also read them on our Facebook page. Check it out and tell your friends too!

You can read Chapters 1 and 2 here: (Chapter One) (Chapter Two)

8. Cooking with Mimi

This month Mimi has been busy decluttering her pantry and look what fabulous goodies she has created! It's time to stick your head in the pantry door and follow in her footsteps.

Prune and chocolate truffle slice

A decadent dessert or treat from prunes and daggy bananas? Impossible you say? Well try this one! This is rich and delicious. The fruit gives the slice a rich and fudgy texture which is complimented beautifully by the smooth, glossy chocolate ganache topping.

Serves 8 as a dessert. Must be started the night before you need it.

UTENSILS:

Food processor
Mixing bowl
Container with lid
Measuring cups
20cm square cake tin
Large saucepan
Large bowl to sit on top of saucepan
Flat boxes lined with tissue paper if using as a gift

INGREDIENTS:

275g prunes (to yield 235g prune flesh)
1 cup boiling water
3 small or 2 large overripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
100g butter, chopped
75g plain flour
50g cocoa
1 tsp vanilla essence
150 ml cream
150g chocolate melts

The night before you want to bake this slice, put the prunes in an airtight container with a lid, and pour over one cup of boiling water. Seal the container and leave the prunes to plump overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180C fan forced. Line the tin with baking paper.

Using clean hands, squeeze the pips from the prunes, retaining as much flesh as possible. If this is too messy, you can skip this step by using pitted prunes. You need 235g of prune flesh for this recipe.

Put the prunes into a food processor and add the butter. Process until well combined and as smooth as possible. Add the banana and vanilla essence and pulse until mixed. Add the eggs one at a time, pulsing until smooth. Add the plain flour and cocoa all at once and process until the batter looks like a thick cake mixture.

Pour the batter into the lined tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until there is no 'give' in the centre of the slice.

Remove and cool.

While cooling, bring a saucepan of water to the boil, turn down to a simmer. Put a bowl on the top of the saucepan, ensuring that it's large enough to sit safely, but not deep enough to be touching the simmering water. Put the cream and the chocolate melts into the bowl, and stir constantly until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Carefully remove from heat.

Ensuring that the slice is cooled, pour the chocolate and cream mixture (ganache) over the slice while still in the tin. Refrigerate until cool and firm.

When cool, slice into thin wedges and serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

This is also delicious cut into squares and boxed as a gift, but requires refrigeration to retain the ganache topping.

Creamy risotto cake

You can use any rice, any sort of soup, and whatever other ingredients you like for this great versatile risotto cake. A fantastic frugal family meal that can be jazzed up for guests. Hot or cold, this one's a winner!

EQUIPMENT:

20cm round cake tin lined with baking paper
Non-stick frypan
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Spatula
Saucepan
Measuring cups
Large mixing bowl
Serving platter

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
2 cups water
2 rashers bacon, trimmed of rind and diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 large zucchini, grated
3 eggs, beaten
1 tin cream of chicken soup
250g grated tasty cheese

Line the cake tin and preheat the oven to 180C.

Put the rice and the water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

When boiling, cover and switch off, but leave on the cooling hotplate. Do not peek for 20 minutes or the rice will not cook. After 20 minutes, remove the lid, fluff the rice, and tip into a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly.

While the rice is cooking, heat the frypan, spray with cooking spray (oil), and fry the diced bacon and onion until the bacon is lightly browned and the onion is translucent.

Add the bacon, onion, zucchini, eggs, soup and cheese to the rice. Mix well until combined thoroughly.

Tip into the lined cake tin, and press firmly to compact the mixture. The tin will be very full.

Bake for one hour. Test for doneness by inserting a knife into the centre. If the knife comes out clean, it's ready. If there is any wet mixture sticking to the knife, pop it back in for another 10 minutes.

When done, remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Run a knife carefully around the edge of the tin to loosen the risotto cake. Invert onto the serving platter by putting the plate on top of the cake tin, and quickly flipping it over so that the tin is upside down and the risotto cake falls from the tin onto the platter. Shake gently if it sticks a little, but it should just plop out. Gently ease the tin away from the cake.

Serve cut into wedges like a cake, with a green salad on the side.

This reheats well and is just as delicious cold, making it an ideal lunch or dinner.

Vary this recipe by using different types of cheese, grated vegetables, steamed frozen vegetables and other diced deli meat such as chorizo or ham.

Luxe version: Use shredded poached chicken and a round of camembert cheese instead of deli meat and grated tasty cheese.

Fragrant Middle Eastern rice

Serves 4 as a meal or 6-8 as a side dish

This is a great pantry clean-out dish. You can use any legumes, any rice, and the herbs and spices will bring it to life. I particularly love to use the yellow split peas as there are always some left over at the end of winter... one can only eat so much pea and ham soup, however lovingly prepared! They taste completely different this way and have a gorgeous more-ish nutty flavour.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup yellow split peas
1/2 cup rice
1/2 tsp dried chilli seeds or equivalent minced or fresh
3 tbsp lemon juice (juice of one fresh lemon)
700 ml boiling water
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 heaped tsp minced ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 onion, chopped
1 tin diced tomatoes or 8-10 cherry tomatoes (optional)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole (optional)
Chopped nuts and fresh coriander to garnish

EQUIPMENT:

Measuring jug
Large non-stick frypan or wok with a lid
Measuring spoons

METHOD: Put the peas into a large bowl and cover with 6 cups of boiling water. Cover and put aside for one hour. Strain after one hour and rinse until they stop foaming. Using a large non-stick frypan or wok, heat the oil and fry the onions and spices until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the drained split peas and rice. Stir thoroughly to coat the rice and peas with the spice mixture. It should be making your mouth water already. Measure the boiling water into a jug, and pour it over the rice mixture. Add the lemon juice. Mix thoroughly. Cover and allow to simmer gently over a low heat for 35-45 minutes. Check and stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the base of the pan. Taste and season if necessary with salt and pepper.

You can serve this dish now and it will be a sort of Middle Eastern version of fried rice, or if you prefer, add the tinned diced tomatoes and garlic 10 minutes before the full cooking time. Stir well, and remove the garlic cloves before serving. This gives a more delicate flavour and texture. Turn your rice into a dish worthy of a dinner party by omitting the tinned tomatoes and garlic, and garnishing with roasted baby cherry tomatoes instead. While your rice is cooking, line a baking tray with baking paper, and spread the cherry tomatoes over it. Sprinkle with olive oil and season well. Roast at 200C for 20 minutes. Garnish your rice with the roasted cherry tomatoes, chopped nuts and fresh coriander, and wait for the compliments.

This looks spectacular heaped on to a large serving platter, steaming, sprinkled with nuts, and decorated with large sprigs of fresh coriander. It's equally colourful and appetising served individually in bowls. Delicious reheated the next day too!

9. Penny's Blog: Great Expectations

Aug 25, 2010

I am now the proud mother of a 14-year-old! Who has spent every day since his birthday bouncing around the house singing at the top of his voice in between telling me how mature he now is! Unfortunately for Liam his birthday was quieter than planned. Ali came down with swine flu so all visitors and outings had to be postponed! Whilst poor Liam was less than impressed, he still had an enjoyable day. As he headed off to bed that night he said 'Thanks heaps for my presents, Mum, they're really cool. This is the second year I haven't had any toys though!' To which I replied, 'Well, you're 14 now! What toys was I supposed to get you? I didn't realise you wanted any!' 'I know, I don't!' he chuckled. 'It's just when you're small you can get heaps of stuff for less money. When I was little I could get five action figures for $100. Now I'm lucky if I can get one pair of running shoes for that much!' I had to agree - but I can't say I miss the clutter that every birthday used to bring. All those new toys with a thousand detachable pieces which would inevitably get lost - or worse, tripped over or impaled in someone's feet!

Particularly at the moment, while it's so important to keep the house tidy. I shouldn't say it but it's lovely to have a few days' respite from people passing through. The last few weeks have been manic; almost every day we have had agents coming through or house hunters. Everybody says how much they like the place but we're still waiting for the right person. Lovely as the people are who we have met, they have all been retired couples or single women. What our house needs is a family! It needs kids running up and down the stairs and playing in the tree hut. It needs a pony or two or a couple of pet lambs. Our place is just too big for one or two people to rattle around in, but there's nothing we can do except sit tight and wait for our dream family to come along. I think we could be waiting a while though. From what I've seen so far, families just aren't buying at the moment. They're all too scared to move until the market changes. Everyone's waiting for everybody else.

Still, we'll do our best to be patient and in the meantime just keep up with the constant tidying! As anyone who has ever sold a place will know, it's a never ending battle - especially if you have kids! Liam, to his credit makes very little mess. The items he brings out of his room are minimal and he always likes his room to be tidy, with everything in its place. Ali, on the other hand is a nightmare. A hilarious nightmare, but nonetheless a nightmare! Always busy and moving on from one activity to the next, he leaves a constant trail of destruction in his wake. DVDs are watched and never put back. He's always making up some game or another and there are always BITS everywhere. Bits of paper, cardboard soccer players, imaginary rugby tournaments - and the latest is attaching his dad's new fishing reel to whatever takes his fancy (usually a bar stool or something equally large) and 'reeling' it in, pretending there's a huge fish at the end of it! I've lost count of how many times one of us has almost tripped and broken a leg on the blasted thing!

The other day I told them I had had enough and that all pocket money was going to be stopped until they lifted their game. With people coming through every day, the house needed to be spotless, yet I was finding I was doing the same chores and picking up the same things as the previous day and the day before that - just silly little things such as picking wet towels off the boys' bedroom floors or ridding the kitchen bench of cornflakes or coffee granules. 'A good chef always cleans up after himself!' I grumbled to the kids for what seemed like the hundredth time. Several years ago I thought I had the answer. I bought both the boys a 'mess basket' and every time I was tidying downstairs and came across something belonging to them that wasn't supposed to be there, I would put it in the appropriate mess basket and present it to them for emptying. There was just one problem. The mess basket never got emptied and the boys could never find anything because they would always forget about the mess basket!

Liam, having the misfortune of being both 14 AND six feet tall was read the riot act. 'Liam, you're a big - make that VERY big - boy. Now I KNOW you make your bed religiously every morning and I KNOW you fill up the wheelbarrow with firewood every day for me but for goodness sake could you try hanging your towel up for once when you've had a shower?! And why do you never EVER put your phone/book/school books/calculator/dirty dishes/contact lens solution/video games away?! Can you please help me out here? We're trying to sell the place for goodness sake!' I pleaded. ' 'FINE!' he retorted. 'I'll put them all away! Jeez! If it bothers you that much! Just tell me where you want me to put them!

And it was then I realised. All these years I have expected my children to be psychic. Every time we have acquired anything, whether it be for them personally or for the family, or for the house, have I ever once said to them 'Right, this is a good place to keep the thingummy-wotsit! From now on, it goes here?' Well have I? Er, no. Being a 'there's a place for everything and everything in its place' sort of person, I have simply taken it upon myself to find the new thingummy-wotsit a nice wee nook in our home, then expected everyone else in the family to know EXACTLY where it's supposed to go from this day forth into eternity, without ever actually telling them. And why on earth should they be remotely bothered about asking where things are supposed to go, when I'm so hell bent on putting things away first in my constant quest for perfection? I can't believe it's taken me 14 years as a mother to work this out but it has!

So now we've got to the root of the problem, the question is how to fix it? One of the main problems is washing. Dirty or clean, it gets everywhere. If Liam so much as dries his face with a bath towel it goes straight in the washing basket. Ali, being the active wee chap he is always goes through twice as many clothes as everyone else but I realised even he was going to extremes when we were going out for Liam's birthday dinner the other night. When I commented that his rugby jersey had got a bit shabby to wear out to dinner, he obediently went and changed. And put the aforementioned rugby jersey straight in the dirty washing basket, after he'd worn it for precisely 30 seconds! This led me to two conclusions - the first being that I was sick and tired of being overloaded with washing and realised the only way to cure them of this was to make them do their own. The next day I presented them with their own laundry basket each. When it's full, they have to take it to be washed and be responsible for drying it and putting it away. The second conclusion I came to was actually the same one I had come to previously - that my children are not psychic. Kids need instructions. Mine have been doing what they were told all along - the problem was that I was only giving them half the instructions. 'Put your dirty ice cream bowls on the bench when you've finished' does not mean the same as 'Put your dirty ice cream bowls on the bench, then rinse them out and put them in the dishwasher!' That may be what I want them to do and is what I am thinking - but it's not what I'm saying!

So it seems that I am no longer able to lay the blame for having a less than spotless home wholly with my children. On the whole they are pretty darn good. It's me who needs to clean up my act, if you'll pardon the pun! From now on I need to make my instructions clear and show or tell them where things need to go. I have a feeling the Vault can help me with this too. Have you checked out the Cleaning section lately? There are TONS of brilliant ideas and so simple too! One tip that jumped out at me and made me think 'that's what we need!' is this one, titled 'Hang the washing! Let's save it instead'. I think there's going to be an awful lot of new hooks being put up in our house!

August 2010

2nd - Are youse fullas rich?

4th - Against the grain

10th - Gut instinct

19th - Serendipity

10. Homeopathy Corner: Jump Start Your Mind

If your mind is foggy and you're finding it hard to think clearly and make decisions then decluttering is going to be a struggle. So this month Fran shows us some simple exercises and homeopathic remedies to clear your mind and give it a jump start.

Fran's article is here: http://homeopathyplus.com.au/increase-your-focus-and-improve-your-memory/

11. From Last Month: Affordable Office Furniture

Last month Ros asked:

"I am looking for affordable office furniture. We have a small business that we run from a single bedroom flat, but we need to move for more room. Does anyone know where I can get good office size desks at great prices? Student desks are just not big enough for what I need."

According to members there are more than a few ways to create or find wonderful office furniture to suit every budget. Here are some of the most interesting ideas we hope will help!

Custom-built desks for less

If you are looking to save on custom built desks, try asking your local kitchen/cabinet maker. They will cut a piece of Melteca to the size you require and edge it for you. All you would then need are some legs or existing desk ends to attach to the top. An additional space saving idea is to put filing cabinets underneath the desk (so remember to have the dimensions in mind when ordering your desk.)

Contributed by: Ann Foster

Great desks going, going, GONE!

You can find lots of cheap office furniture at auction houses. Sometimes you can get desks for just $10 or filing cabinets for as little as $5.00! Just make sure you inspect the goods properly before bidding. They are usually sold 'as is' and once you buy it, they don't accept returns. There are a number of auction houses out there and you really can grab some great bargains.

www.omaras.com.au

www.graysonline.com.au

Contributed by: Samantha P

One man's trash is another man's treasure!

I got a fantastic desk for home which cost absolutely nothing. I contacted a number of large businesses in my area and discovered one that was being refurbished. Because they were upgrading to newer desks they were keen to find homes for all their 'old' ones and were more than happy for me to take one off their hands! I am delighted with my fabulous find!

Contributed by: Paul Phillips

Total office makeover for an unbelievable price!

A friend recently outfitted her home office with near-new office furniture purchased at very low prices from a Trading Post ad. The furniture included a large desk and return, filing cabinet, storage unit and shelves. It all looks brand new and is hard to believe it has been used before. She also got a computer, paper shredder and photocopier, all for ridiculously low prices, from the same ad and is now grinning from ear to ear!

Contributed by: Anne Shaw

Recycled door + filing cabinets = fab new desk!

For a funky, original and retro look for your desk that won't break the bank, use two drawer filing cabinets as bases and span the gap with lengths of plywood or recycled doors. If the plywood sags over a long span simply screw a pine stud underneath for plenty of support. The plywood can be stained, painted or just left unfinished.

Contributed by: Wayne Van Wijk

IKEA offers great deals on desks

I have found the best prices for new office furniture are Ikea and Officeworks. I have just moved interstate and need to start over and have been doing a lot of research into where I can find the best deals as my funds are very limited. I only have a laptop and so have purchased, new, a great little desk for just $29. Officeworks have a range of larger desks for just over $100.

Contributed by: Cecilie Lamshed

Ex-government furniture at excellent prices

I bought a drawer unit and a filing drawer from an ex-government furniture place for just $50, when they are often almost $300 new! Ex-office or ex-government furniture places are full of perfectly usable office furniture that has come from government and large corporations after a refurbishment. They get rid of all their furniture and it ends up in these outfits to be sold for very reasonable prices, second hand.

Contributed by: Carla Dunn

Dining tables are the new desks!

The best office desk I ever owned was a dining table I picked up really cheaply at an op shop. It was much sturdier than a flat-pack desk and, because it was slightly bigger than an office desk it had plenty of room. I gave mine a good scrub and polish, (sometimes they can be transformed with a quick coat of paint) and I had a desk that lasted me years, for a fantastic price.

Contributed by: Felicity Hubbard

Multiple options for outfitting a fabulous office

We have quite a large office and outfitted it all for around $1500. We are well known bargain hunters and have helped friends set up their offices as well! We set up our business with six desks my dad got us from an ex-government auction in Brisbane and were $1.00 each! They are great, solid, ex-drafting desks from a TAFE college. Equivalent office desks can be in excess of $500 each.

We also got some brand new, white, heavy duty metal shelving on eBay for $160 a bay. Sellers who are updating their office often have perfectly good furniture for sale that they just want rid of. We solved our filing cupboard problem (they are so pricey) by getting two four-drawer cabinets from the Salvation Army for $40 each. We then got them electro-coated for $200 for both. It may seem expensive, but good quality four-drawer filing cabinets are around $400 each.

A client of ours made their rows of desks from scaffolding framing and laminate tops (with black edging they ironed on). It suits them as they own a construction business and it saved them a lot of money. You can also use two-drawer filing cabinets as desk 'legs' and get tops made to fit, or large ply/MDF panels. (Ikea is great for home desks but we've found their office desks aren't sturdy enough for everyday use and are really not suitable for the work environment. I've had friends who had to replace their desks from Ikea within the year.) It also pays to broadcast your dilemma and make it clear what you're after. We asked everyone we knew whether they had any spare office furniture. We got given the names of a couple of office furniture places with second hand furniture (like Booths in Camperdown), and were given a board room table and some new office chairs!

Contributed by: Peta Zoubakin

12. This Month's Help Request: Whittling Away Our Inheritance

This month Catherine asks:

"This might sound a bit silly but I'm after some advice about how not to spend an inheritance. Whenever my husband and I use all our pay, we simply start using our inheritance money. Sometimes we just use the credit card as we know when we get home we can just transfer the money out of our savings account. Please help us to stop this nasty habit that will leave us with no more deposit for a house!"

If anyone has any suggestions or experiences which could help Catherine, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: Confessions of a Stay at Home Mum

"I can hardly believe it but we have an extra $2000 sitting in our savings account! I have been a stay at home mum for 18 months. My husband earns a slightly above average salary, which allows me to stay at home with our son. We have a modest home, with modest furnishings and modest tastes. We haven't really had a financial plan since we got married two and a half years ago and have just been cruising along, saving a bit some months and spending it other months.

"When I first left work I had full intentions of making a budget, planning our meals, organising our lives and generally being on the ball with our finances. Each month when pay day rolled around, I would say 'this is the month where I get organised!' But it never happened. I am the first to admit that I have been lazy, unmotivated, complacent and ostrich-like. I have been a member of Simple Savings for over a year and always thought we were doing OK and didn't really need to know all these ways to save money. I had heard of The $21 Challenge but wasn't really motivated to try it and we were ticking along as usual - until last month.

"With baby number two arriving in three months, we needed extra storage space so we extended our garage to make room for all our stuff. This extension made a dent in the savings account which, although we knew it would, was quite depressing to see the balance dropping and dropping and not going back up. Lo and behold, motivation began creeping in!

"I downloaded all our bank transactions for the month and was horrified to find that I had spent an average of nearly $260 per week on groceries for two adults and one toddler. There were lots of other things I was also horrified to see but I started with the groceries as it seemed easiest. Motivation knocked harder. I decided to take charge!

"I read the first two chapters of The $21 Challenge on the website, put a copy of the book on my library request list and did a stocktake of my pantry, fridge and freezer. Imagine my shock when I discovered I had enough ingredients to plan meals for the next 19 days! That's not counting meals like scrambled eggs, pumpkin soup and the emergency baked beans on toast. We had enough food in the house to live on for over three weeks! We just needed fresh fruit and vegies and that was about it. I didn't quite make $21 but my first grocery shop after doing the stocktake came to $61, down from $258 per week the previous month.

"From then on I watched the bank account like a hawk and knew where every cent went. In previous months when the bank account got low, I would simply pull out the credit card and pay it off on pay day but not this month! This month it stayed in my wallet.

"It's pay day again tomorrow and guess what? I have spent an average of $160 per week on groceries, saving us nearly $100 per week. By being aware and thinking to myself 'do I really need that?' and deciding 'no', the savings account has increased by a whopping $2250! That figure makes me weak at the knees! I can't honestly say where the money has been going before now. We don't have the latest gadgets, appliances or clothing. I am truly at a loss BUT I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself right now! At the same time, I feel a bit sick that I didn't do this 18 months ago, or even 12 or 6 months ago, but I've done it now. I am motivated to change my ways. I have goals. I have the energy to do this and I have Simple Savings to thank for giving me the tools to continue saving!"

Contributed by: Anonymous

August 2012 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - August 2012

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Playing Chicken!
September is Free Food Month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner: Fossicker's Tip Shop
Best Members' Blog: 'Stay-at-home'-itis
Best of the Forum: Pick of the Crop
Best of the Vault: Harvesting Hints!
Cooking with Mimi: Moroccan Spaghetti and other Berry Funny Musings!
Fifty Cent Indulgences: 50c R & R
Claire's Corner: Playhouses are for Chicks
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Worm Bathtub Farm & Spring Prep
Homeopathy Corner: In the Yard
From Last Month: Fire Surrounds
This Month's Help Request: Variety is the Spice of Life
Savings Story: Thank You to all the Members of Simple Savings
Goodbye, Goodbye

Hello,

How are you going? I hope you have had a fantastic month. We have had a ball this month with our one light nights. Keeping everyone in the same room has made a huge difference to our family. Before we used to sneak off to different rooms, Matt and I would do some work on the computers, the kids would entertain themselves and no one ever cleared the table. But, all that changed this month. The table got done and kitchen too, and we bought some guitars so each night we have been strumming away and finishing off the evening with a family game of UNO. It has really brought all of us together.

We also bought some very cute one-day-old chicks. The chicks are so cute I thought you might enjoy a photo.

Aren't they beautiful? Things are really coming together in the Lippey household and we are only one or two days away from launching Simple Savings 'Ye Old Shoppe'. I really hope you love the shop and send us in more fantastic emails telling us how cool we are. Like these ones - they always make us grin and inspire us to do even better next time.

"Having been a member of SS for a few years I let my subscription drop. Two of my daughters have just become engaged, one to a lovely boy with a very large family, big wedding. So back to square one, saving. I realised the only way to do this was to re-join SS. I am now on the road to NOT spending on anything unnecessary for the rest of the year and see how much I can save towards these weddings. Even though I am now in my 60s I realised that you should never give up the things that work for you, you never know when you will need them. Thanks SS for being there, it's great to be back!" (Margaret)

"I've been a Simple Savings member for a few years now and enjoy searching through the Vault. Thanks for a great service; I'm sure I've saved a fortune over the years." (Anni)

"I have been a subscriber for a little while to your site, but haven't yet purchased a Vault membership (trying to use the $ saving tips to get one!). I am really enjoying the email updates and the website. I recently borrowed The $21 Challenge from the library just to see how it works - I love it! Haven't put it to full use yet (need a weekend free with no husband or kids in the house!) but I have used some of the recipes and love them. The 5 cup loaf with chocolate chips and cocoa is so moist and such a - relatively - healthy treat, and the chicken curry - yum! Made some modifications to it as I didn't have cream of chicken soup or sour cream, but I DID have cream of chicken and corn and UHT cream. I added more curry powder and some cooked carrot slices and even my youngest daughter ate it! OMG! I am going to take the book back to the library and get myself a copy to keep!" (Danielle)

All the best,
Fiona

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Playing Chicken!

"Tom! This is a nice surprise," smiled Chloe. "Come in. How's your day been?" "Good!" replied Tom. "I've just come back from the local show and - well - I've brought you something," he grinned sheepishly. "Really? Aw, you shouldn't have!" Chloe beamed. "How exciting!" She went to give the box a shake. "Oh no, don't do that!" Tom quickly stopped her. "They're fragile," he chuckled.

Tentatively, Chloe peered into the box. "Chickens!" she squealed in delight. "Oh Tom, they're adorable! Are they really for me?" "Yes, they're all yours," smiled Tom. "I hope you don't mind. It's just you were saying the other day about the shocking price of food and when the farmer said they were free to a good home I thought of you. Who knows, maybe there'll even be enough for both of us!"

Chloe's face immediately filled with horror. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly. I mean just look at them! Can't we just get a BBQ chook for dinner? I really appreciate you trying to help but they are much too cute to eat. What are you laughing at?" She glared at Tom who was clutching his sides. "Chlo - I didn't bring you these to eat. I got them for you so you can grow them into hens and have your very own eggs for free!"

2. September is Free Food Month!

Giving his girlfriend a box full of cute, baby chicks may be a sweet gesture on Tom's behalf but it's also a very smart one. If Chloe thinks the price of basic food items is already high, she's in for a shock. Wheat prices are set for a steep increase due to worldwide weather conditions pushing up the price of bread, pasta and processed flour products. In addition, the prices of chicken and eggs are also set to rise which means we, as consumers, have a choice. We can either sit around and complain about it or we can refuse to pay the higher prices and do something about it like Tom.

For example, we can:

Cut back on bread/pasta/processed flour items and include more easily home grown starches such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and corn. This not only makes for a better budget but better health too.
Get planting. Growing fruit, vegies and herbs in your own yard is as close to free food as any of us can get.
Get our own chickens. Keeping chickens is one of the easiest things you can do to make a difference to your wallet, your health and the environment.

We have been encouraging members to participate in Free Food Month in Simple Savings newsletters since 2008. The food prices may keep on rising but the ways to beat them haven't changed. Check out our newsletter archive for ways to get growing and keep your food bill at a minimum - for good:

2008: www.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2008/8/

2009: www.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2009/8/

2010: www.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2010/7/

2011: www.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2011/7/

If you want to know more about keeping your own chickens, be sure to read the newsletter from 2010. As well as containing heaps of reasons why they are so fantastic and will benefit your household, this is also where the amazing 'Cut and Paste Chicken Tractor' first made an appearance! It really is brilliant; so cheap and easy to make. Have a look and you will see just how simple and hassle-free keeping your own chickens and harvesting your own yummy fresh eggs really is.

If keeping chickens is really not for you or not possible, there are plenty of other ways you can think outside the square and enjoy fresh, homegrown food. You don't even have to have a vegetable garden. Herbs such as mint and lemongrass are easy to grow and make beautiful free tea. Or for something different, why not start a water garden? Edible water plants, such as water chestnuts, Lebanese cress and green taro can be grown in almost any watertight container in the right position.

Whatever you decide to grow - eggs or eggplants, try and make it your goal this month to pick one edible thing each day from your own yard. If Clueless Chloe can do it, so can you!

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winner: Fossiker's Tip Shop

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a business, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you'll be in the draw to win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping other members save. The more information you can give us about your special store or business, the better.

This month's winner is Fossiker's Tip Shop as nominated by Heather Brown.

Well done Heather on finding this Aladdin's cave and sharing it with us.

Fossiker's Tip Shop (Hanrahan Road, Albany, WA)

Fossiker's Tip Shop is a brilliant place to pick up second hand, pre-loved and recycled items salvaged from households before they end up in landfill.

People from all around go to this shop for bargains. I recently went there in time to help a painter unload tins of paint from his ute and managed to get more than 25 litres of white paint, (valued at over $70) for just $2.45! I also got a single bed, minus the mattress, for $1.00, 15 books for $0.20c and enough tiles to cover large amounts of my pathway for $0.50c!

Prices range from whatever small change you pull out of your pocket to about $10 (but that was for a round trampoline missing only two hooks, complete with the mesh protection and still in its original box!). One staff member (who works on a Sunday) is affectionately known as 'The Two Dollar Guy'. Nothing he sells is more than $2.00 - I think he likes to clear out as much as possible on his shift, so $2.00 is his catch cry.

One couple I met there has renovated their home with shower screens, doors, windows and more. They had been quoted over $20,000 to do this and managed it for less than $200! As you can imagine, they are still smiling! They are as keen as I am to encourage others to view this gem of a shop as an exciting place to start a creative savings journey!

The service is generally excellent, sometimes there are so many people and vehicles coming and going that you may have to wait a few minutes to pay the staff member on duty. Mind you this time is well spent comparing ideas and projects with other like-minded people.

Fossiker's Tip Shop is open from 8.30am - 4.15pm every day, including weekends. The website is http://council.cleanaway.com.au/albany/fossicker%E2%80%99s-tip-shop.aspx and their contact number is (08) 9842 3415.

If you know somewhere special you'd like to recommend, please write in and tell us. Send in your Hidden Gem here and you could be the next winner scooping the prize money. Thank you to everyone who entered and good luck for next time!

4. Best Members' Blog: 'Stay-at-home'-itis

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a cash prize of $100 each month for your Simple Savings Blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Simple Savings member 'Living Without?' for her thoughts on 'Stay-at-home'-itis

I don't know if anyone else suffers from this elusive 'itis'. I find it pops up for a few days every two to three months. You know the feeling... when you are crawling out of your skin and wondering how on earth you ended up being a stay at home mum?

It's not that I don't love my kids... they're great! And, in fact, I find it such a privilege to be at home with the kids, when so many others are unable to. But sometimes it's just so boring! Does that washing really need to be done again? Does another cake need to be baked (in my case the answer is always yes!). Is it really time for another play group?

You can't win really, can you? I have friends who have to work for financial reasons and would give anything to have the time to wash another load of washing, attend another play group or bake another cake (or any cake at all really!). I know all this, and so I know that my 'stay at home'-itis will once again pass. But this bout of my annoying ailment has left me wondering what life would be like if I did return to part time work...

This year I have become a fully committed Simple Saver. Despite always being financially savvy, being a Simple Saver has opened my eyes to a different way of life. DH and I have made many changes and yes, we do reap the benefits in terms of lifestyle, but being a SS does take time. I do apply to the occasional part-time job in my field but if I were to take on a job, what would fall behind?

When I worked part-time after my first child was born we had a house cleaner and ate pre-prepared meals/take away once or twice a week. The SS (and nutrition freak) in me would no longer allow that. Baking would be diminished, although it will never disappear completely because I love it too much. Shopping at a separate butcher, fruit shop and various supermarkets would surely take too much time, and as such, savings would decrease. Would I have time to ring around all my providers when renewals come up? Would I stay on top of the best deals? I am pretty sure I could still fit in yoghurt and bread making (because let's face it, it's a breeze!). More washing would be done at night so I imagine the dryer would start to be used more frequently. My sewing would stop and so my nieces and nephews would go back to receiving shop-bought birthday presents. Then of course I would need more day care, after-school care and presumably there would be no family tax benefits. I find it overwhelming just thinking about it...

Of course, just sitting down and typing this all out seems to have broken my 'stay at home'-itis. Seeing it on screen makes me appreciate more all the things I get to do at home. Great! Next time I'm feeling 'over it' I just need to log on to Simple Savings once more!

Congratulations 'Living Without?' on working hard at home, to stay at home. To read any of our members' blogs, click here

5. Best of the Forum: Pick of the Crop

Whether we live on a bountiful plot of rich soil or a high rise city building, with a little thought and planning, free food can be ours. It might be as simple as a few pots of herbs and a trellis of cherry tomatoes on a tiny apartment balcony to spice up an ordinary evening meal. It could be as ambitious and adventurous as our own Rob Bob's garden of plenty. Here's how some of our members have managed to find free food in their gardens...

Herbs help please

Some great ideas to get your herb garden on its way.
read more...

Raised vegie beds

Dr Seuss would love this thread - make your own easy-to-use raised garden beds out of bricks and sticks, tins and bins - using pallets and mallets!
read more...

Advice on how many baby chicks to get

All together now - awwwww! Some fantastic advice on how to have your own delicious home-grown, fresh eggs!
read more...

Chook recipes, remedies, hints and tips

Great advice on keeping chooks happy, healthy and well fed.
read more...

Triple SSS - semi self sufficient

This thread is an inspiration to any of us who yearn for that little bit of self-sufficiency.
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: Harvesting Hints!

Our Vault is bursting with fantastic ideas to help your Free Food Challenge come to fruition! Here are just a few...

Growing communities with Landshare Australia

I recently discovered a fantastic, free community project called Landshare Australia. It is a brilliant new 'growing' initiative which enables people who don't have any land to grow their own fruit and vegetables by connecting them with people who have a spare bit of land they're prepared to share. It's community-based, open to anyone and best of all, it's free to join. Go to: www.landshareaustralia.com.au

Contributed by: Flikka

High rise gardening

Even though I live in a high rise apartment block, I have still managed to create a fantastic garden - saving me money on fruit and vegetables. I have a small deck on which I grow potatoes, red onions, strawberries and blueberries, along with an assortment of herbs and flowers. They're all grown in pots and are thriving! All you need are some small to medium pots and a few bags of soil to enjoy your own spray-free produce. I cheat a little in that I do buy some plants ready to be potted depending on the time of year. It's great to come home and sit out in my garden and enjoy my own home-grown strawberries. Yum!

Contributed by: Barbara Martin

Save yourself some hard work and rent a chook

After about 12 months of hinting to my husband, we finally have two chickens in our back yard! We are actually renting our girls from a great online company called 'Rentachook' which is based in Ryde in Sydney. We went for the two chook package which cost us $380. This includes the chickens, hutch, straw, feed and containers. The deal is: if, after six weeks, it is not working for you for any reason, they will take it all back and refund you $280. This isn't a bad idea considering the chooks alone cost about $30 each. The company provide detailed fact sheets and have very approachable staff who will answer any questions you have, no matter how silly they seem. It's so easy - which is the aspect that most appealed to my husband; he didn't have to make a hutch or anything, we just picked up the whole lot in our trailer, brought it home and set it up. (They also deliver for a reasonable fee.)

Our new chooks have already laid four eggs and are busy fertilising, aerating and de-bugging our garden! I did some research on the website prior to picking them up and found the company recycle a lot of items and were in need of old stroller wheels for their hutches, and chaff bags and bailing twine for the straw they sell. I have a horse, so the bags and twine were easy for me to find. At the time we were having a council clean-up, so I checked the streets close to home whilst out walking and found a few sets of wheels to take along. They were really grateful and their way of saying thank you was to give me an 'upgrade' - one free chicken and full bag of feed instead of the normal half a bag! I have already started my next collection towards covering some of the cost of my next bag of feed or worming tablets. We are really happy with our chooks and thoroughly recommend 'Rentachook' to those of you who, like us, want to keep chickens at home but don't have the time or resources to get it happening on your own. Check out www.rentachook.com.au

Contributed by: Jodi Deamer

Pots of seedlings savings

I saved $36 on the purchase of a wooden Pot Pal, here's how! As a keen gardener who grows vegies from seeds, I found a way to use an empty spice jar to make seedling containers. I cut 10cm wide strips of newspaper which I loosely roll around the spice jar and then fold and tuck the ends of the newspaper under the base, pressing firmly. I then slide the paper pot off the mould and fill with potting mix.

I make a tray of these and pack them tightly together. The tray can be an old box, a seedling tray from the nursery or a Styrofoam box. Ensure whatever you use has holes for drainage. I add a small amount of my favourite 5-in-1 fertiliser to the potting mix, pop in my seed and cover with more soil. Once the seedling has grown it can be put into the garden bed, newspaper and all!

Contributed by: Elizabeth Symes

No cost gardening from recycled items

We created a wonderful new garden, made entirely from recycled items! My daughter and I love to grow our own flowers and vegetables but when we moved into a place with no area for a garden, we had to find a solution and decided to grow things out of pots and boxes. To start with, we made a list of all things we needed, then found out how much they would cost to purchase. To buy planter boxes and all the equipment for growing from seeds was going to prove a costly exercise!

So we visited some warehouses and were given some old wooden shipping pallets for free. We took them apart and reassembled them as wooden planter boxes! My daughter painted designs on them and we made boxes of all sizes. We even recycled the same nails from the pallets so we didn't have to buy any! We used old margarine tubs to create containers for growing seedlings and a friend gave us a large old glass fish tank. This was great - we simply placed it upside down over the seedlings to make a glass house! We even used the air pipes from the fish tank and connected this to an old drink bottle to create an easy watering system. The only cost left was for the seedlings and potting mix. Fortunately though, another friend gave us a bag of unwanted potting mix and their leftover seeds! Now we are having home grown salads with our meals and have lots of lovely flowers to look at. We didn't need to spend a cent - we just thanked everyone who contributed by giving fresh produce from our very own garden!

Contributed by: Jolon Taylor

Here are some more free food ideas for our valued Vault members:

Go bush for authentic Aussie flavour Contributed by: David J

Chickweed pesto free from the garden Contributed by: Jane R

'Grow your own' herbal teas Contributed by: Christine Croce

Four fruits from one tree Contributed by: Tanya Nehr

7. Cooking with Mimi: Moroccan Spaghetti and other Berry Funny Musings!

Did I tell you about my $28 strawberries? Actually, there were four. Four strawberries. Twenty-eight dollars each.

Well, you see, it was about this time one year ago, that I last got all gung-ho about growing my own produce. I'd grown garlic chives and sprouted spring onions and flirted with finger eggplants that no-one but me would eat, so I thought I knew a thing or two. Yes, I know this is about Moroccan Spaghetti... bear with me.

So I read along with Rob on his gardening hints and tips (Rob's being the garden I most admire), asked a few questions that made me sound like I was in the know, and off I went. I was raised on a farm and my maternal grandies actually grew strawberries for a living, so I thought that berries being in my blood, as such, I'd start there.

Course, being the fusspot I am, there was no way I was growing my strawberries in polystyrene containers, or hells bells, in the ground! I wanted those Frenchy looking white wicker basket things to hang fetchingly from my retaining wall, thus rendering my distinctly Aussie home a little more soignée (also known as 'noice' in true blue Aussie lingo).

A trip to the hardware store and $110ish later, I was home and ready to grow my own berries. At no stage, did I question how many punnets of said berries in season I could have purchased for aforementioned ridiculous outlay. Positively plummy with the anticipation of success, I loaded my white wicker hanging baskets up with commercial potting mix and organically inclined things, and in went the strawberry runners.

Frenetic watering and fertiliser with stinky stuff went on. We watched with bated breath as little pink flowers appeared. We applauded excitedly as a teeny weeny berry formed in the centre of each pink flower. Then it all went pear (strawberry?) shaped, and my memory is a bit hazy. I tend to block traumatic memories, you see.

We think the brush tail possum that resides in our roof ate a couple. Then there was that visitor with the inquisitive two-year-old who wanted to pick the flowers. And of course, the run in with our excitable little whippet, which resulted in one entire basket, contents and all, being spread all over the front garden. Whatever the circumstances, the outcome was the same.

Four strawberries.

Those four strawberries were unlike any strawberries we'd ever eaten, and how we wished there'd been more.

However, Husband was so traumatised by the idea of consuming a $28 strawberry, that he forbade me to try growing any more, fearing a cataclysmic outcome for the kids inheritance that we're madly trying to spend.

So, now I stick with herbs. Herbs I can do. I'm happy to hide herbs amongst the other stuff in the garden. I'm even content with plastic pots full of happy little herbs. Growing herbs actually saves me money, so Husband is happy too.

So, here's a great recipe that uses all of my favourite easy-to-grow herbs. It's vego, is easily adapted for gluten sensitivity, is dairy-free, and has the potential to turn you off traditional spaghetti sauce forever. It's an absolute corker and all you need is a couple of pantry ingredients and some home grown herbs. Not a $28 strawberry in sight!

You'll need a big pot of water to cook the pasta and a medium one for the sauce, as well as a non-stick frying pan for toasting the almonds. A couple of sharp knives and some scissors will be handy too.

Here's the ingredients list:

Pasta, any sort. We use gluten-free fettuccine, but just use your favourite.
1 punnet tomatoes. If you're a more savvy gardener than I, then you might be lucky enough to have some cherry tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes or something equally impressive nodding in your garden. I don't, so I tend to use either a punnet of cherry tomatoes, or 4-5 big bought (insert long suffering sigh) tomatoes, chopped up, roughly. Please don't use tinned tomatoes for this one. It just won't be the same. This is, however, stunning with sun-dried or semi-dried tomatoes.
2-3 big handfuls of herby stuff, snipped up with the kitchen scissors. So, shallots, parsley, garlic chives, coriander, mint, rocket, even a little bit of dandelion, nasturtium leaf and stinging nettle washed well and blanched if you're in to foraging, are all good.
A handful of nuts or seeds. Between ¼ and ½ cup is ideal. We like almond slivers, but you could use pine nuts if you're posh, or pumpkin, black mustard or poppy seeds if you're allergic.
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp each of cinnamon and turmeric
1 tsp each of ground coriander and cumin
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed till they stop foaming, or the equivalent amount of soaked and pre-cooked ones.
¼ cup olive oil

Get out your medium saucepan and add the oil. Heat it over a medium hotplate until warm and add your onion and garlic. Stir it all around for a minute or two until it's soft. You don't want it browned so much, just tender.

Add your tomatoes and spices and turn it all down to simmer very gently while the rest of your meal is cooking. It doesn't need to fry. All you need is for the tomatoes to break down a little.

Turn on your largest hotplate and get the water boiling for your pasta. Cook as directed on the packet.

Put another hotplate on the highest setting and get out your non-stick frying pan. Toss the nuts or seeds around until they're roasted and smell warm and toasty. Tip them out of the frying pan onto a platter straight away or they'll burn.

By now, your Moroccan sauce should be coming along just fine and dandy, and it's time to add the chickpeas and toasted seeds or nuts. Taste it, toss it all around, and add seasoning if you think it's necessary.

Drain your pasta well, and add the sauce, tossing it all well. Add your herbs and turn the pasta over them gently. Ready!

Now Husband, not being a huge pasta fan, skips the fettuccine and says 'I'll just have the Moroccan thanks, hold the spag'. So be it. This is such a great flavoursome meatless meal, that as long as he can have it 'hold the spag', he's happy.

As for the strawberries, the bought variety will do me just fine, thanks very much. I've got my kids' inheritance to spend and it won't be on strawberry runners!

8. Fifty Cent Indulgences: 50c R & R

Hi Everyone,

This month the 50 cent Army indulged in 'A little Break'. Having some time to call our own is good for us physically and mentally and will often keep the wheels on our bus as we navigate this journey of life. There are many ways to enjoy a '50c R & R' - start with turning off your mobile! Plan easy 'holiday' meals. Save for inexpensive but enjoyable holidays throughout the year... such as ours in our little caravan.

Here it is - although it is 'snug', it is the means of so much fun and happiness. We go to a beach area two hour's drive from our home, and for the princely sum of $28 per night, we get to stay in a beautiful scenic caravan park with the sound of waves breaking as we drift off to sleep.

We take beautiful tea and delicious food, our favourite books and DVDs, board games, lovely linen and our beach gear. The slow cooker is a must for easy meals, and wraps, dips and salad fillings make delicious lunches and snacks. One of Annabel's great hints was to fill a 'holiday basket' with your favourite things including wonderful smelling lotions and potions to indulge in some holiday beauty - bliss!

If you find that a vacation seems to be out of the question, why don't you consider a 'Staycation'. This is where you use your own home as a holiday destination with you as the guests! You can still enjoy wonderful treats and spend time pursuing some delightful local attractions. The key to this is letting people know that you are 'on holiday' - you stop work and all your normal activities - you are on holidays after all!

Next month we get to explore the delights of an abundant Christmas where ideas aplenty will await us all for just cents. Drop in, say hello and share your '50c Indulgence' ideas at...

Gifts from the heart... Under 50 cent indulgences

We look forward to seeing you there,
Helen

9. Claire's Corner: Playhouses are for Chicks

When our son turned five, I bought him what I thought to be THE coolest birthday present ever. It was the one thing I badly wanted as a kid, and assumed he would also love... a whopping big outdoor playhouse. Cool right? When I told him that his mystery birthday present was arriving on the back of Granddad's truck he was wide-eyed with excitement and wonder. However, when it arrived, his wonder turned to disappointment. He was imagining Granddad might be delivering a new bike, a rocket ship, a dinosaur or some other exciting truck load of boy-type fun. My childhood dream, it turned out, was nowhere near his!

The playhouse spent most of the next 10 years as a storage shed for bikes, trikes, balls and other outdoor paraphernalia. Sporadically, I'd clean it out and encourage the kids to actually play in it. Which they did a handful of times, until a handful of rather large, long-legged, hairy spiders saw the untapped potential of this vacant real estate and set up their own home. And that was it. The playhouse was deserted, the kids actually feared it. So it sat, a home for unwanted toys and spiders with a taste for the indoors.

But that all changed about two years ago when we found the perfect tenants. Six feathery, clucky chooks. I'd wanted chooks for years - we had them when I was a kid and I have fond memories of my own baby chick that followed me everywhere, and of gathering freshly laid eggs and enjoying yummy, golden-yolked eggs.

The playhouse was the perfect chookie castle. It's super sturdy and totally watertight; we just needed to add a few roosting poles and nest boxes - a couple of second hand beer crates did the job nicely! Setting up the chook enclosure down in the back yard did take a bit of time, and money was particularly tight, so we mustered every ounce of ingenuity we had and used whatever we could recycle! We had a stack of metal poles and netting from the kids' trampoline enclosure that had broken months before. The poles were perfect for the frame, we just needed to buy some wire mesh (discounted of course!) and we used the netting to help block up holes in the bush and hedge that they could escape through when we let them out to forage. The end result was a fabulous, secure chookie area that has resulted in hundreds and hundreds of delicious, home-grown eggs!

Thankfully, this was one recaptured childhood memory that did not disappoint. I still love heading down to the chook house each morning and gathering up those freshly laid, warm eggs. Sometimes they're huge double yolkers! And the colour and taste - mmmm!

We've only had to buy eggs twice since we set up, and that's been during winter when the girls tend to lay fewer eggs. But that's okay because in the height of their production we were getting six eggs a day! Our friends, family and neighbours have been kept well supplied. We've even set up a barter system with a few of them - we've swapped eggs for all sorts of goodies; vegetables, babysitting time, fresh baking, bread and so on! And a carton of fresh, free range eggs is the perfect way to say thanks for those little favours that others do for us.

By my reckoning, it cost us a total of $300-ish to get set up, including the cost of the chickens, the wire mesh and the extra bits and pieces like new hinges for the playhouse door and so on. We were buying two dozen eggs every week (we eat a lot of eggs!), so that's around $16 a week. We now only pay around $4.00 a week for grain - and are getting an abundance of super fresh eggs from super happy hens!

And of course, the chooks offer so many more benefits than just yummy eggs! They love to devour scraps that would normally take up space in the bin, they keep on top of the weeds and they provide fantastic fertilizer! And with any luck, our kids will have wonderful childhood memories of baby chickens and fresh yummy eggs too (which may just make up for their bad memories about giant spiders in the playhouse!).

10. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Worm Bathtub Farm & Spring Prep

Bathtub Worm Bed

Last weekend we finished off our bathtub worm farm which we'd started last week. We made it using bits we already had lying about the place... the bath was last year's water chestnut bed, we also used the legs from four metal chair legs bolted together, the rails from an old bed and a screen door that has lived under the house for over five years.

The worms harvested from the blue barrel went in on Monday afternoon. We spread them out nicely under shredded paper and worm slushy, which we added later in the week, and they appear to be doing fine. You can check out our YouTube clip, 'How and what we feed the Worms' if you are interested.

During the week I also harvested one of the 60L barrel farms from a Freecycle member but didn't find many worms in there. I am slightly disappointed in myself as the drum was left far too long before being harvested and I found a few dried out worms under the pavers where the drum sat. I did get a large amount of great looking castings, but only a fraction of the worms harvested compared to the blue barrel in the above clip. They were fed mainly horse manure with some whole vegie scraps every now and then. We also took some worms from the blue barrel farm down the back as well as the black farm to boost the numbers in the gifted tub.

Wormy Bits

Worms are hermaphrodites but mate with each other by joining at the clitellum (the band around the body). Sperm is exchanged and after a while a cocoon forms in the clitellum which is released after it matures.

We haven't found many cocoons this time round as I think it is the wrong time of the year and a tad too cold for these cold blooded squirmers. The cocoons can have up to three babies in each and are viable for long periods waiting for the right conditions before hatching.

From what we have seen, compost worms can handle very damp conditions. We have them living quite happily and thriving in our aquaponic grow beds where they munch on fallen vegetation, roots from plants that have been pulled, as well as any solid fish waste that comes through with the water. We have also harvested healthy worms from some very mucky clogged up farms in the past, I would even go as far as saying they were happier than pigs in muck!

Worms can eat from half to nearly double their bodyweight in a day if the conditions are right. Their healthy appetite allows them to convert nearly any kitchen or garden waste into nutrient rich, cheap fertiliser for your garden at a great rate. They also recycle valuable organic material that would normally go to waste in a rubbish dump.

I would greatly encourage anyone who has the space in their garden to consider getting some of these little fellas. We started off with just a top-up pack of worms (500 or so) and now have at least a few thousand - and those numbers will only climb when the weather heats up. They can set you back a bit when you first start out, but you could ask family and friends with a worm farm if they would be willing to part with some, so you can start up your own. You could also ask on Freecyle as there may be someone there who is willing to share some of their own.

Sowing Seeds for a Spring Harvest

This weekend I will be spending some time with my seed tins, a sketch of the patch, some garden books and my favourite online planting guide - Gardenate. I like this site as you can enter your climate and get a fairly good idea of what is ready to be planted out. I don't stick to it wholeheartedly as we can plant some things that our neighbours can't due to the layout of their block and tree coverage. It really is a bit of a guessing game with plenty of experimentation.

I am also trying to take advantage of a few shady spots to squeeze in some late cold weather crops like snow peas before it warms up too much. I noticed yesterday that a few had started to break the surface.

On Monday I planted some Nantes carrots into a barrel and decided to cover them with coco peat to act as a mulch to keep the seeds moist, time will tell if this will work though! Both lots of beetroot, Mini and Early Wonder, which were planted over the past few weeks, have started to show their leaves! (Happy dance!)

I had a great harvest of a few plants yesterday. We got some assorted peas, some strange sweet potatoes, a nice looking dragon carrot, just under 1.9kg of Roma tomatoes, the last full head of the second crop of broccoli and a few berries!

Happy Harvesting

It's great to see so many fantastic SS garden-oriented threads. There are some excellent gardeners out there with lots of valuable experience to share! Here's a few to help everyone find a little green-fingered inspiration!

SS veggie gardens... Downhill side of winter
How self-sufficient are you? #2
Triple SSS - semi self-sufficient
Kiwi gardeners - what vegies are you growing now?

I'm off to harvest some more worms and castings, happy harvesting and have a great week!

Rob Bob : )»

Catch up with Rob Bob in our Members' Blogs area.

11. Homeopathy Corner: In the Yard

We love simple solutions that bring great results and this month's article really fits that bill. In it Fran shows us how to use homeopathic remedies to scare away snails, get rid of aphids, scare off caterpillars and improve your soil.

Here is a link to the article.

12. From Last Month: Fire Surrounds

Last month Kaylene McGrath asked for our help:

"I live in Tasmania and most of us down here have wood combustion heaters (because it gets REALLY cold).

"I recently had some renovations done and have put my wood heater in the middle of the very large open plan living room so that the entire room heats evenly. Works great! My problem is that I can't find any four sided fire guard screens. The closest I have found was well in excess of $400 and I would have to buy two and connect them. I have cats, dogs and children and am clumsy so I'm constantly worried about someone burning themselves.

"I was wondering if maybe some of the amazing members might have some ideas I could try?"

Thanks so much to everyone who wrote in with their innovative and economical ideas for Kaylene. Here are some of our favourites!

Guard your fire with a pet playpen

Instead of buying an expensive fire screen, a folding pet playpen made of galvanized or powder-coated wire is an economical option. These come in various heights and lengths and cost $40-$80. If one playpen isn't big enough, you can easily join two together. Look for one with a full panel door so you can get in and out easily, as many of them only have a small access door for a pet.

Contributed by: Linda S.

Ask your local engineer or Men's Shed

You could try asking at local engineering shops if they could make a customised fire guard for you (or know of someone who could). My dad used to own an engineering shop and often had local people drop in with small jobs, he never minded. You could also try recycling depots to see if they have something that would work or could be made into a four-sided guard. Also, I often see stories in the local paper about the 'Men's Shed' who help local residents/groups with small jobs. The Men's Shed are retired gentlemen who like to be kept busy and feel useful, I think they are great!

Contributed by: Tracy B.

Fire guards from security door screens

When our children were little and we needed to screen a large slow-combustion heater, we found some old security door screens minus the fly-wire (try the recycling centre, roadside pick-ups and so on). Using hinges, we joined them together along the short sides to make a solid, firm and child-proof safety screen. As our fire was against a wall we used three and then secured the open ends to the wall for safety, but for a heater in the centre of a room, just use four. They are self-supporting and large enough to leave plenty of space between the screen and heater.

Contributed by: Suzanne Waters

Fab playpen fire guard, with bells on!

A friend of mine who needed a four-sided fire guard went along to a second hand shop and found an old playpen for just $5.00. Her husband undid one side, painted it black and fitted it around the fire. He turned the side that he undid into a gate so they could put wood in the fire but it had a padlock so the children couldn't open it. She also hung bells on the top part so if the kids climbed up on it she heard it.

Contributed by: Robyne Neal

Super sturdy fire guard from steel railing

We made a fantastic fire guard, which is by far the most secure fire guard I've seen on anyone's home, for just $75! And I have never worried about our children, or anyone else's, hurting themselves on our fireplace!

Rather than pay a ridiculous price for a flimsy store-bought guard, we went to our local recycling yard and picked up some simple old steel stair railing. The pieces that were designed to go up the stairs now create a nice diagonal feature on the side of the guard, and the panel that was originally on the landing has been cut down to make a gate at the front. The whole thing has been bolted to the wall, and is as sturdy now as when we first installed it.

Contributed by: Terri Adams-Munn

Versatile fencing screens from Bunnings

My friend bought some small, connectible stainless steel fencing screens from Bunnings which can be set up in any configuration. She uses them for mini duckling pens but they could go well around a fire place too. I believe they were under $60 for a set.

Contributed by: Kathleen Hughes

Home-made fire screen from weldmesh

For just $100, my partner made us a fire screen using weldmesh which he cut and hinged together. We used plastic tubing sliced open length ways to cover the sharp edges. The off-cuts also made a frame for growing peas and a pannier guard for my bicycle!

Contributed by: Ruth F.

Compost surround makes sturdy fire guard

For an economical wood burner surround, you can buy a four-sided square cage from Bunnings (creates a one square metre size pen) that is commonly used as a quick set-up compost surround. I recently bought one - they are only about $40 each and are very sturdy too. And if you no longer need the fire surround you have a compost bin ready for use!

Contributed by: Jenny Robertshaw

Transform gates and fencing into fire guards

For a great four-sided fire guard, a wooden playpen can be picked up cheap or free from Freecycle. Simply remove the hinges from one side to open it and use catches to act as a gate. If possible, it can be screwed to the floor to stop it moving. If you want a metal guard, you could check out the second hand stores for old gates that can be hinged together, fencing or even bed heads. We had some fantastic wrought iron railing that with a coat of paint would have been beautiful! As an added bonus, something like this can also be used as a clothes horse for drying.

Contributed by: Barb W.

Try plant climbing fences from Masters

For an economical alternative to expensive fire guards and playpens, Masters (the new competition for Bunnings) has outdoor climbing plant fences that only cost $8.00 and are about 80cm tall, 160-180cm long. If you bought a couple of these (depending on how much room you want to keep between the kids and the heater) and have some string or twine at home, you can make your own fire guards. And later you can use them in your garden!

We bought some and used them at an outdoor event recently to keep our toddler corralled (used long gardening stakes to secure them to the ground and twine to tie them together).

Contributed by: The B's

Safe and Secure with a Lindam Playpen

You could try the Lindam Safe and Secure Children's Play Pen from Target. We bought one recently on special for $119. It is a children's playpen that doubles as a safety guard to block access to a fire or another part of a room. You would normally change the configuration for a wall fire, but as it is six sided, it may go all the way around your fire in the playpen configuration. It even has a child safety gate that you can open to gain access.

Contributed by: Michelle R.

13. This Month's Help Request: Variety is the Spice of Life

Heather has sent in this cry for help:-

"I have a conundrum. We are both in our seventies. My husband has been seriously ill and is on chemotherapy. I am being constantly reminded that he 'doesn't like' stews or casseroles. He only likes grills or roasts. Consequently I am trying to cook something new and different every evening of the week, which I find thoroughly emotionally exhausting. He won't have a main meal in the middle of the day, which we should both have, as it's better for physical reasons. I would greatly appreciate some solutions!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Heather, please send them in to us here.

14. Savings Story: Thank You to All the Members of Simple Savings

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the members of Simple Savings who helped me, gave me tips and supported me in my efforts to obtain freedom from debt. Our block of land has finally been sold and when we received the cheque in July we were at last totally debt-free. I didn't really believe it could happen but the patience, frugality and hard work have paid off and now my hubby and I can enjoy our lives knowing everything we do, eat, wear, buy and so on, will be ours and paid for with our own money. Thanks again. I couldn't have done it without you.

Pat Murphy

15. Goodbye, Goodbye

Phew! Well, that's a wrap on another Simple Savings newsletter. We hope you have enjoyed it and have been inspired by all the money saving tips. Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say, 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

We hope you have a great month enjoying your free food!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

August 2014 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - August 2014

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: How Green Does Your Garden Groan?
August: Get Growing!
Competition: Winner of Our Food Photographer Competition
Penny Wise: Still Growing!
Best of the Vault: Go Potty
Best of the Forum: Get Into Some Gardening - Any Way You Can!
Best Members' Blog: The Good, the Bad and Still Getting There
Mimi's Rustic Roast Lamb Pie (can also be gluten-free!)
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Feeding the Patch and the Belly!
From Last Month: Help Me With the Winter Blahs
This Month's Help Request: Purchasing Safely Online

Hello,

How are you going? We've had a fantastic July and are ready to get growing in August! Our members never cease surprising me and in July we were fortunate enough to work with one Simple Savings member, Rikki, who is involved with a charity called Fitted for Work. I was very happy to see 110 discounted copies of The $21 Challenge go to Fitted for Work, Melbourne.

Fitted for Work is a not-for-profit organisation assisting women experiencing disadvantage to get work and keep it. Since 2005 it has transformed the lives of 14,500 women. Here's a photo of Amanda Carlile (National Client Services Manager), Rikki and Anne Lennon (National Development Manager) with The $21 Challenge. You can learn more about Fitted for Work here: www.fittedforwork.org.

We love hearing from you - your savings stories and tips make my day! Here are some of my favourites this month:

"I am a strict budgeter, obsessive meal planner and love to bake/cook as much as I can from scratch so when I read your $21 Challenge I was a bit skeptical and thought it would not apply to me. Well, I was pleasantly surprised! I decided to give it a go this week and managed to create a five-day menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts for less than $21 (and this included some deodorant for hubby!). I need to let you know that my pantry is highly organised, you will never find 10 cans of corn or more than two packets of pasta at any given time but I still managed to scrape some delicious meals together and save $200! Thanks for giving me the incentive to have a go and I will definitely be making this appear in my planning a bit more often!" (Kylie)

"I have been receiving your newsletters and Hint of the Week emails for quite a number of years now. The last hint hit home with me and I followed the suggestion of putting unwanted items on eBay and listing them for $0.99c on auction. Hey, guess what?! It worked! I already have a buyer and if $0.99c is all I get then that's great as I know the items have gone to a home where they are wanted." (Noeline)

Have a great month!

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. Memberships on sale. SAVE $14

We are dropping the price of Vault membership from $37 to $23 until August 20th.
Click here to grab one.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: How Green Does Your Garden Groan?

"HEY! Watch my plant!" Sarah grumbled at James as they both burst through the door at the same time. "What have you got there, sweetheart?" Sally asked. "It's just her silly old basil plant from school. Honestly she treats it like it's her baby or something!" scoffed James, as Sarah glared back and clutched her yoghurt pot seedling protectively. "I reckon that's big enough to go in the garden," said Pete. "Shall we go and find a space for it in the vegie patch?" "Yes, let's go!" said Sarah excitedly. "I'm going to grow the BEST basil in my whole class!"

"Look at my crazy sister," James giggled a few days later as he looked out the window. "She's singing to her silly old plant!" "You leave her alone," chided Sally. "She's enjoying herself - and she knows the more you look after plants, the bigger they grow and the more yummy basil we'll have to cook with. Besides, her plant is growing better than all of your father's!" she chuckled. "Hey, hey, she's only got ONE plant to look after, I've got a whole garden full!" laughed Pete. "I'll give her credit where it's due though, she must be doing something right, bless her!"

The next afternoon Sally was getting the washing in when she stopped in her tracks. What was that noise? It sounded like someone was in pain! Quickly she ran around the side of the house in the direction of the noise to find Pete watering the vegie patch, singing at the top of his voice. "Good grief, it's YOU! I wondered what on earth all the racket was!" said Sally. "Well I remember reading years ago how Prince Charles said he sings to his plants and it certainly seems to be working for Sarah so I thought I'd give it a go. It's quite fun!" grinned Pete. "Looks like it!" chuckled Sally. "Although I hate to say it - but you might want to leave it to the professionals, love. You want the plants to GROW, not GROAN!"

2. August: Get Growing!

Poor Pete! Maybe he just needs to choose a different song to get his garden growing - perhaps a little Green Day would be more appropriate! Even if his vocal efforts leave a little to be desired, at least he's out there giving it a go and as Sarah shows, you don't have to garden on a big scale to get some terrific results.

There are all sorts of reasons why people don't feel able to grow their own food. Lack of time, lack of space, lack of money to get set up - but the biggest reason is lack of confidence. I have black thumbs. I don't know how to grow anything. What if I fail? The truth is, however, EVERYONE can grow SOMETHING! Even small children like Sarah can grow sprouts on a windowsill or a seedling in a yoghurt pot. And, no matter how young or old you are, the feeling you get from planting something yourself and watching it grow and flourish is hugely rewarding.

So this month, we want you to bite the bullet and grow something - anything! Herbs in particular are a fantastic start for the nervous gardener. They are inexpensive, don't take up much room and are very easy to look after. Better still, you will have instant and fresh flavour at your fingertips for your cooking, making all your meals even tastier. Here are the easiest ones to grow.

Don't pay $3 for a bunch of herbs, get the plant instead.

Flat Italian parsley is a strong sturdy plant you can add to almost any savoury dish. It doesn't need any attention - just the right amount of sunlight and regular watering. Use it in salads, dress up a sandwich or sprinkle over rice and noodles.

Basil is a quick-growing, easy plant to look after and nothing tastes as delicious as fresh basil in a summer salad or stirred through a pasta sauce or casserole. Make your own pesto and keep in the fridge for quick and delicious pasta meals.

Mint is fragrant and fast-growing and needs very little attention. Perfect with meat, vegies, salads and dessert dishes, what's not to love! A few sprigs make soothing hot teas or refreshing cold drinks. Try varieties like peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint or some of the 'fruit flavoured' mints such as apple or berries-and-cream!

Rosemary is another plant that once it is established, you will be able to enjoy for years. Dress up a lamb roast with lots of rosemary and garlic and use with poultry, casseroles, soups and vegetables.

Lemon grass needs NO maintenance and is an essential ingredient in many Asian dishes and delicious in soups, stews, salads, desserts and teas. Why buy a jar for $4.00 to use a few times when you can buy the plant for less, and use forever?

Echinacea is another tough plant people forget they can grow. Why buy capsules of dried echinacea for $30 when you can grow this hardy plant for years, for only a few dollars?

Your August Challenge is to get out and grow! Choose one of the herbs above and get growing - and saving! Singing is optional.

For more information, have a look here.

3. Competition: Winner of Our Food Photographer Competition

"Oh wow... this one is BEAUTIFUL... look at THIS ONE!" ...This is the sound of Fiona looking through the beautiful photos we received for the food photography competition. Wow! When we launched the competition we knew we'd get a few entries, but we never guessed we would get so many, and of such great quality! Some were quirky, some were rustic and some even had child stars in them! What stood out most was how much time and effort you all took with your photos.

These people get an honorable mention for their beautiful photos:

Rachelle Dudson
Sandra Rielly
Jodie Stevens
Caroline Kiwara
Mabel Pan

(Click here to see all of the runner-up photos.)

It was very hard to choose a winner - we'd like to congratulate Kylie Mibus as the winner of the $400 prize for her beautiful photo. Well done Kylie.

4. Penny Wise: Still Growing!

Why is it, do you think, that the universe always sees fit to bestow good fortune upon us with one hand, then take it away with the other in the blink of an eye?! Just as you dare to think life is finally going to cut you a little slack, along comes the hand of fate to slap you a big backhander and knock you down again. Apologies for sounding all doomy and gloomy but I'm not actually wallowing in self-pity - really! Whilst this has indeed happened to me in the last month on several rather unwelcome occasions, some of my dearest friends have also been going through similar trials, both financially and emotionally. It's always harder to watch people you love struggle than it is to go through it yourself, isn't it? The only good thing is, well, after all this time I'm used to it. All these months of trying to survive and deal with life's ups and downs on my own has given me so much valuable insight and wisdom; you don't realise how much until you find yourself using it to help others. Despite being wise by name, I've never thought of myself as wise by nature! I see it in the Forum all the time and am blown away by the amazing advice and assurance other members have to offer but I've never really thought about what people have had to go through in order to be able to give that amazing advice. Being able to use your own dark times to help others in a positive way really is a wonderful thing. As Noel often used to say, "There's always something good to come out of something bad," and there really is.

One thing I do know for sure is that my years of Simple Savings knowledge have given me a huge advantage over my friends. We may all have a lot of the same dramas - unexpected vet bills, mechanic call-outs, speeding tickets; you name it, just like everyone else. We may all lie awake at night worrying how to make ends meet, pay the bills and still afford new school shoes or birthday presents for the kids. But unlike them I have SS as my secret weapon, constantly encouraging me to think outside the square, get creative and find new ways to save. I don't have to buy cleaning products or beauty products or so many of the things other people do. They can't imagine not buying them because they've never known any other way. They don't know how to lower their food bill by cooking from scratch instead of expensive packets and jars. All these things we as Simple Savers do as second nature is still literally a foreign language to so many. Simple Savers know how to literally live on nothing when we need to. And when we run out of nothing, we still manage to find a way to eke out more.

Most of the time I find saving money is pretty effortless. Of course things will always come along to stuff up your efforts, such as getting a flat car battery two hours from home and all of a sudden having to pay $70 to renew the AA membership you weren't going to bother renewing so you can get home! But bills aside, it's actually very easy not to spend money, although sometimes you have to justify whether the savings are worth the effort. Take my vegetable garden. Several weeks ago I made the decision to get rid of the whole area and put it all back into lawn. It was a hard decision and one I struggled with for some time but as soon as it was gone I felt a weight had been lifted. The clincher for me came when a neighbour smiled kindly and said, "Gardening should be a pleasure, not a chore," - and that was exactly what mine had become. The vegie garden I had inherited with my house was 10 metres long by five metres wide, it was huge! And while initially I found growing my own food hugely rewarding, it soon became apparent that all my spare time was going to be required tending to it. When you're the solo parent of two teenagers, your weekends and after school times are not your own and before long I just couldn't keep up with the constant weeding and planting. It got to the stage that I had actually stopped looking out of the window as I couldn't bear to see how much it was getting away on me. Not only that; but once my Gilbert's Syndrome symptoms really started to make themselves known, I couldn't get out in the garden when I wanted to as I was too often stuck in bed. These days you would hardly recognise me as the same girl on the cover of The $21 Challenge book, my body weight has almost halved since then. When you only weigh 44kg you tend to run out of energy pretty quickly!

Not only that; keeping a vegie garden of that size constantly planted was proving expensive. Eventually it got so that I was buying plants I didn't even like to eat just to have some variety and to try and keep the weeds at bay. I also found that much of my spare time was spent driving around the neighbourhood giving huge amounts of food away. Don't get me wrong, that part was fantastic and so rewarding but it just became so time consuming and was actually costing me money, particularly in petrol! As soon as my garden was gone, I was able to look out of the window at my beautiful yard, still full of fruit trees and smile again. As I type I still have an abundance of lemons, oranges, mandarins and tangelos and locals will still benefit from my free produce. I also have two large half-barrels and a long wooden planter which I will use to grow food in from now on, in quantities we can manage, as well as many trellises to grow beans up and am looking forward to still being able to enjoy home-grown lettuce and tomatoes in summer. It's all about getting the balance right I guess; the main thing is, I'm still growing something!

Even so, I am finding not having a vegie garden is making a difference to the food bill and the amount and variety of vegetables we eat. Before, I was spoilt for choice and would simply create meals around what was ready to be picked. Now I find myself wincing at the cost of broccoli! It has also had an effect on the kind of dishes I cook, as I no longer base my meals around whatever produce needed to be used up. But I still feel the decision to get rid of my monster vegie garden was right. Ali, my littlest 'baby' turned 16 yesterday and Liam is 18 in less than three weeks. He'll be leaving home at the end of the year and Ali won't be far behind. Already the three of us couldn't keep up with the mountain of food coming out of it and our household is only going to become less. A Simple Saver I may be but I would rather spend what precious time I have left with them watching Liam flying round the rugby field or Ali wielding a cricket bat rather than at home on my own pulling out weeds. There'll be all the time in the world for that soon enough and when that happens, I'll probably be wishing for that enormous vegie garden again!

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page.

...or in our Members' Blog section.

5. Best of the Vault: Go Potty

Here are some ideas to help with this month's challenge and get some dirt under your fingernails! It doesn't matter whether it's a pot of herbs on the window sill or a bottle of sprouts on the kitchen bench - just do ONE green thing this month.

A garden that travels with you

We were planning to travel around outback Western Australia in our caravan but still wanted to enjoy home grown vegetables while we were on the road. No problem - we took a vegetable garden with us! It simply sits on a non-slip tray under the caravan table!

I bought a $2 plastic planter box and a $1.99 punnet of mixed lettuce, and then I picked some parsley and spring onions from our garden. I filled the planter with soil from our vegie patch, cut the tops off the spring onions, leaving about 20cm of green tops and 5cm of roots, and planted them at one end of the planter. The parsley went into the other end, followed by the lettuce. I recently bought another planter and we now grow spinach and celery as well. I share excess produce with fellow campers, who all make wonderful comments about our caravan harvest!

We plant everything close together to stop weeds coming through, and use leftover water to feed our thirsty plants. We just need to watch out for wildlife like goats, rabbits and kangaroos when the planter is outdoors.

Of course you don't have to be a traveller to benefit from this idea. If you live on your own or have limited space try growing vegetables in a planter. The results will be fantastic!

Contributed by: Shirley Turner

Boxing on through the frosts

I am a keen gardener but we have late, heavy frosts in our area - when we should be planting seeds or seedlings. I have overcome this by planting seeds in old plastic wrap and foil boxes! When the frosts are over, the boxes can be planted directly in the ground as they are bio-degradable.

Contributed by: Keeping Warm

Bucket loads of savings on tomato pots

I saved almost $40 on pots for growing my own food! Recently a friend gave me some tomato seedlings. I don't have space in beds, however, so they had to go in pots. I checked the price of ordinary 'cheap' black plastic pots at Bunnings and found they were $5.50 each. I needed eight pots; this was going to be an expensive solution! Then I had a brainwave - I could use buckets instead! So off I trotted down to The Reject Shop where they had just what I wanted for $0.78c. I bought eight buckets, drilled holes in them for drainage and my tomatoes are now growing happily in their new home. Best of all I saved $37.76 and my free seedlings will grow into delicious free tomatoes!

Contributed by: Trish

Basil faulty

Growing your own herbs can save you money, but you save even more if you don't have to replace dead plants on a regular basis!

I love basil but as I had no space to grow it outside, I had to grow a potted plant on the window sill. Invariably, the poor thing would wilt and die and I would have to fork out more money to replace it.

This year I purchased a new basil plant, but this time I put the pot into a clear plastic bowl and half-filled the bowl with water. It has worked brilliantly. I can immediately see when it has run out of water and I refill. No aphids and a very large, healthy plant so running out of water was a big factor in the past failures.

Moral of the story, look after your plants and they'll look after you.

Contributed by: Linda

6. Best of the Forum: Get Into Some Gardening - Any Way You Can!

You don't have to be a green-fingered expert to enjoy successful gardening - you just have to start! Grab a pot, hanging basket or any handy container and some good soil and plant something this week.

Share the seed Facebook group Australia and New Zealand

Join this Facebook group to share what you know, and learn what you don't!
read more...

Things that grow from cuttings

Don't waste your money buying when you can 'snap and pot'.
read more...

Vegie garden thread #2

There are some great ideas here to get you into your garden.
read more...

17 foods to grow once and regrow forever

So you think money doesn't grow on trees!
read more...

7. Best Members' Blog: The Good, the Bad and Still Getting There

This month's winner is 'Lil ol me' for sharing her adventures in the kitchen. Lil has been blogging about her system of preparing meals to take them from the freezer straight to the slow cooker - here is how she got started:

I have to share my latest obsession. I came across a system of dinner preparation called freezer/slow cooking. It's brilliant! And saving me so much money. I now go to the shop once a week and I know I have everything for the week's dinners.

Essentially you plan every meal to be made in the slow cooker. You have to do a meal plan and then go and do your shopping. Once home, get out your re-sealable bags and fill them with ALL the ingredients for the meals. Label each bag and put them in the freezer. Each night I pull one of the meals from the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge. The next morning it gets popped into the slow cooker - Dinner DONE! How easy! It has worked perfectly for me and has freed up so much time. It took me about an hour and a half to prep all the meals and clean up, then I didn't have to worry about what to cook for dinner for the rest of the week.

It has saved me money as I don't have ingredients that I forget about in the fridge. I haven't had a meal I'd planned to make but one of the kids has eaten the ingredients for. It's given me extra time to prep/make other snacks for the kids instead. Now I will be honest enough to say a couple of the meals have been nothing short of bleurgh! One mouthful and I knew there was no way the kids would eat it (or me!) so I've made sure I have a really quick back-up just in case. Last night was one of those occasions but instead of a take away option, I quickly whipped up two ingredient pizza bases and the pizzas were ready 30 minutes later.

Here is the link which started my interest in this cooking system

http://whoneedsacape.com/2014/06/30-summer-freezer-meals/

With the extra burst of inspiration, I've been working on clearing out the pantry of all the odd ingredients. I've had dates floating round for months. I can't for the life of me remember what I bought them for. They quickly become a sticky date pudding one night, after I had spare time, since I didn't have to make dinner. OMG - delish! It's been made a few times since.

I've also made sure I keep home-made yoghurt and home-made condensed milk in the fridge, which is very helpful. A bit of a habit I've been getting into is having slices on hand for the kids to snack on. I haven't bought lunch box 'fillers' for three or four weeks now. I have so many ingredients on hand that I haven't had to really buy anything special to make them, and it's really helping me reduce pantry clutter. I re-discovered the slice recipe book in the Downloads section of SS and it's brilliant! I forgot how good it was. I have a large oven so I can fit four different slice trays in there at once and have four slices ready in 30 minutes. Sliced into 18 pieces each, that's 72 pieces of slices ready for the kids to grab.

Phew! So sounds like lots of cooking, but it really hasn't been, but I'm creating some wonderful habits in reducing my grocery spending and pantry clutter.

Well done Lil ol me - we're pretty sure your mum and dad feel exactly the same way!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

8. Mimi's Rustic Roast Lamb Pie (can also be gluten-free!)

These little pies are simply divine and for a gluten-free family like us, a real mouthwatering treat. The pastry is so light and crisp and thankfully bears no resemblance whatsoever to that suspicious looking stuff wrapped around equally suspicious 'meat' that we call a pie these days.

I made these on the spur of the moment one afternoon when the leftover roast shoulder of lamb was begging to be used for something other than a toasted sandwich. Lamb shoulder, by the way, is a far more economical roast than the leg, and is in fact what many of us used to enjoy as our Sunday roast. Slow roasted with garlic and herbs for 3-4 hours, it's a worthy addition to the menu and yields an enormous amount of meat.

I've modified a recipe from a CWA cookbook written in conjunction with the Lady Mayoress circa 1938 and, like many of the old recipes, it worked like a charm.

You can use any shortening you like but for the sake of authenticity, I used beef shortening (dripping/supafry) as suggested in the original recipe. I figured in the quantities it was required for this dish we were still far and away ahead of the game compared to the fat content in either bought pastry sheets or bought pies. I found that it really did give a superior result, but we eat very little in the way of added fat and we all have good cholesterol levels, so I'll leave the decision on what shortening you use to your own conscience.

This recipe will work well for either gluten-free or normal flour.

I baked these in large (not Texas sized) muffin pan holes.

For three generous rustic pies, you'll need:

For the pastry:

2 level tbsp shortening (beef dripping, margarine, butter, lard)
3/4 cup plain flour mixed with two teaspoons baking powder (or use SR flour) and a pinch of salt. Note: I used Laucke Gluten-Free Bread/Baking Mix which comes in a white box with blue lettering in the health food section of the supermarket. That's why my pastry has little seeds in it.
2 tbsp cold milk, plus a little extra for glazing
Extra flour for dusting the bench or two sheets of baking paper into which to sandwich the dough for rolling
Large scone cutter or egg ring to cut the pastry to size

For the filling:

1 cup leftover roast meat, diced
1 cup boiling water
1 stock cube
1/2 tsp Vegemite (optional, for colour)
1 tbsp cornflour
Seasoning to taste

Then just:

For the gravy:

Add a cup of boiling water to a microwave-safe bowl and stir in the Vegemite ensuring it melts and dissipates.

Crumble a stock cube into a separate cup and add the cornflour and a tablespoon of water and mix to a paste.

Add the paste to the boiling water and whisk well with a fork or miniature whisk.

Microwave on high in 60 second bursts until it boils and thickens. Check the consistency. It needs to be a pretty thick gravy, but add a little more liquid if it's too thick.

Add the meat and stir well. Set the filling aside while you make the pastry.

For the pastry:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Grease the muffin pan holes liberally with butter, margarine or a liberal spray of cooking spray.

Rub the shortening quickly into the flour with your fingertips. The key to good pastry is to keep everything cold, so don't stress too much about completely dissipating the lumps. A few tiny lumps of the shortening through the flour is fine.

Dust the bench with a little flour.

Add the milk to the flour mixture and stir with a knife to form a stiff dough. Bring the pastry together with your hands. If it's a little too crumbly to adhere, add more cold milk, a teaspoon at a time. It should form a firm ball when moulded with your hands.

Tip it onto the floured bench or place one sheet of baking paper on the bench, place the dough on it and cover it with the second sheet. This actually works really well as it prevents the dough from sticking to either the bench or the rolling pin.

Roll the pastry out to about the thickness of a twenty cent coin.

Cut three bases and three tops using the large scone cutter.

Gather the remaining dough into a second ball, roll it out again and cut long strips about 2-3cm wide to form the sides of your pies. Just do a guesstimate of the depth of your muffin pan or if you're particular, measure the depth with a ruler and cut the strips to the corresponding width.

Place a base piece of pastry in each muffin hole, then line the sides with a strip of pastry dough, trimming it to size. Press the dough against the sides of the muffin pans and press the edges neatly and gently together with your fingers at the bottom to make the base stick to the side pieces. Prick the base and sides a few times with a fork.

Fill each pie with the meat and gravy filling.

Cover the pies with the remaining circles you've cut for tops.

Use scraps of pastry to cut rough shapes or leaves to decorate the tops if you wish. Press these gently into place.

Glaze the tops of the pies by brushing with a little of the extra cold milk and place the pies in the oven.

Bake until golden brown on top, approximately 25-30 minutes.

To remove the pies from the muffin pan holes, run a sharp knife around the edges of the hole to loosen them and, using a spoon either side, gently lift them from the pan. If you've greased the pan holes sufficiently they should just lift out. I had two come out perfectly and one that disintegrated... clearly the cook got the messy one. I can assure you it was still delicious!

The great thing about these is whilst this looks like a lot of instructions, I actually had the filling and the pastry made in about 15 minutes and the pies in the oven five minutes later. Within 45 minutes we had a really delicious meal that would have seen us parting with anything up to $25 each in a bistro, café, restaurant or upmarket pub.

Served with a simple salad they really are guest-worthy and they need little more than a few scraps of meat, leftovers or even vegetables in a gravy or white sauce to be a truly scrumptious treat.

I've always considered myself an utter pastry novice and I've never yet made a successful pie or pastry dish from scratch... until now.

Give it a try. You'll never buy a frozen pie again. :)

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Feeding the Patch and the Belly!

Feeding up the patch for next to nix

This month's challenge on Simple Savings is all about getting out there and growing your own food. Not only does it save you coin but you'll end up with some of the freshest and tastiest vegies you will ever eat. One way to make growing your own food even cheaper is to make your own liquid fertilisers.

Manures, worm castings and composts are a great way to feed the plants and soil in your vegie patch for no or very little cost. While a bag of manure can set you back a couple of dollars (if you don't know a friendly farmer that is), compost and worm castings can be made from the likes of lawn clippings, kitchen scraps, weeds, animal bedding (poultry, rabbit and guinea pig) and tree prunings. When applied to the garden they add invaluable organic matter to help loosen the soil, retain soil moisture, as well as provide food for compost worms and other beneficial life forms.

Manures, worm castings and composts can also be used to make up some tasty liquid fertilisers that will go much further than the compost/manure itself. When a fertiliser tea is applied to the garden you are providing the plants with an instant boost of available nutrients suspended in the liquid and are also feeding the soil with the beneficial micro-organisms that are also present in some of the teas.

Making up these liquid fertiliser teas can be relatively easy OR can be up scaled into a full-on liquid fertiliser 'brew' by adding air, molasses and other goodies to make up a tasty bacteria-laden treat for your soil and plants. To keep things simple I will be mainly talking about the basic teas that anyone can make with a bucket/drum and some rich organic matter and water. Just a note here on water, most town/city water contains chlorine which is added to kill the bad microbes in the water. If you are worried about killing beneficial microbes in the brew you can leave the water in an open top container exposed to the sunlight for a couple of days and that will help gas off the chlorine.

Manure teas

A big thanks to Puurrey Wife for asking a question on the Forum about manure teas - you helped me decide what to blog on this month. ;-) Manure teas are very basic and easy to mix up if you have a good supply of aged manure. The only manure teas I've made up for this patch involved worm castings but I will cover that below. Growing up on our small farm we had an endless supply of cow manure from our two dairy cows, which was collected and left to age in a pile. After the pats had dried out for a few months they were broken up and used as a top dress for vegie patches for us and my grandparents. We would also add it to the compost piles or tumblers, to break down before being dug through the soils. It is never a good idea to use fresh manure as it can be rather rich in nutrients and do more harm than good by burning plants. It is best to let them dry out or compost before using.

My mother and grandfather used to make up a very basic brew with cow pats in a drum of water. It was as easy as dumping a 10L/2½ gal buckets worth of well-aged, crumbled up manure into a 60L/16 gal drum then filling it with water. It would then be left to sit and soak in the water, breaking down the lumps over three to five days. It was also stirred whenever we remembered and often became slightly 'aromatic' (which I now know to be due to anaerobic decomposition). When it came time to use the mix it was bailed out into a watering can and mixed 1:1 with water for use on the garden. The remnants in the base of the drum were dumped into the compost heap, so got a second chance at making it out onto the patch at a later date.

Just a quick pointer - a lawn mower makes very quick work of mulching up sun dried horse and cow manure. Just be sure to take the washing off the line first or you might be made to do it all again. :-/

Other aged manures can also be used like horse, sheep, goat and even some pet manures like guinea pig and rabbit. We have also included fish waste from our aquaponics set up in a few different brews and I have read of a chap who makes up fertiliser tea from poultry manure but it is a much longer process that I am not familiar with. Might be something for folks to look into if they feel game. ;-)

Please note that manure from carnivores like cats and dogs should never be used to make up liquid fertilisers as it can carry pathogens that can cause diseases in humans. They need to be composted properly over a VERY long period of time.

Compost tea

The compost tea that we make is very simple and can be added to the patch immediately with no brewing required. About 15L/4 gal of compost is used per batch with the tea being mixed up in a 60L/16 gal drum. Many folks will have their own ratios but this one works for us and haven't had any complaints from our plants as of yet. ;-)

To begin with you add the compost into a drum and fill to the top with water. Next you need to give the drum a good stir to get all the brown goodness suspended into the mix. If your compost is like ours you will get some bits of undecomposed straw and other organic matter floating on the top. If you plan on using a watering can with a rose on the spout it is a good idea to remove these chunks and add them back into the compost pile.
Once the compost is well and truly mixed with water you can bail/pour out the tea and water the garden. I like to feed the heavy feeders like pumpkins/cucurbits, corn, tomatoes, capsicums, broccoli/brassicas and so on with this first batch from the barrel as it is the richest brew.

Once the barrel is down to the sludge at the bottom you can fill it back up with water and repeat. I continue to refill the barrel until the water starts to look like a very weak cup of tea then call it quits. We normally get about four to five batches out of a bucket worth of compost which easily gives all the gardens in the back yard a great feed. Any sludge left in the base can be put back to the compost pile or added to the garden beds.

I would like to do this at least once a week but unfortunately the compost pile just wasn't that large and we ran out last weekend. I've decided to bite the bullet and use a commercially bought compost blend we used when we first started the garden here and have had some great results with.

This will be the first time I've used a commercial blend in a tea so I think I will start off with only 4L/1 gal of compost in the drum and will see how the plants react over the coming week.

Worm castings tea

We now make up our worm cast tea in a similar way as we do the compost teas. The main difference is the amount of castings we add into the mix.

The main reason for this is that I think the castings are much more jam packed with beneficial microbes and nutrients, so are more valuable and deserve to be spread around the vegie beds as much as possible. To make up a batch of castings tea I add about one large handful or about ¾ cup of castings straight into the 9L/ 2 gal watering can, fill with water, mix well and apply immediately onto the plants.

I used to suspend the castings in a stocking or paint strainer bag overnight and massage the wormy goodness out of them by hand every few hours, but I now think the above method works just as well. I do think that the plants respond well to this quick feed just as they do with the compost teas. There is also evidence that some of the constituents of worm castings and teas made from it can help prevent disease and deter pests on plants. Click HERE for a word doc download from Soil Ecology Laboratory of the Ohio State University regarding tests conducted on various garden pests.

Weed/green manure teas

In a previous blog I posted details on one of the weed/green manure teas that we make up but thought it was worth going over again quickly as these teas would have to be the easiest, if not cheapest of all to make. Almost any weed will do but to make up a top notch brew it is a good idea to use some dynamic accumulator plants like comfrey, nettles or dandelions in the mix or even by themselves. These plants have very deep roots that 'mine' nutrients from deep in the ground, bringing them up to their leaves for us to harvest and make use of.

All you need to do is collect a fairly full 10L/2½ gal bucket of greenery, rip, cut or shred them up into smallish pieces then cover them with water and wait. If needed you can pop a brick or rock in there to help keep the greens submerged. After two to three weeks the greenery will be very decomposed with the mix resembling a very 'aromatic' sludge with some bits floating and others settling on the base. I like to strain the mix through a paint strainer so the solids don't clog the rose of the watering can. As this tea can be somewhat concentrated it's best to water it down before using it on the patch. Most folks recommend a one part tea concentrate to 10 parts water. I cheat a bit and add one part concentrate to around nine parts of water in the watering can and haven't seen any adverse effects on the plants.

Brewed teas

Brewed teas are another great liquid fertiliser designed to boost the amount of beneficial microbes in the brew before adding it to the soil in the patch.

About a year ago I did a blog called Compost tea & treats for the chooks where I went through a basic recipe I use for brewing up wormcast/compost teas using a small aquarium air compressor and molasses. The same treatment can be given to the green manure teas. It's not a necessity but it does help reduce the pungent aroma made by the steeping process and will help to increase the amount of helpful aerobic bacteria in the brew before applying it to the patch.

I hope that quick look at home-made liquid fertilisers helps you out in some way. That's about it for this month's blog. Hope you all have fun in the patch and shall catch you next time.
Rob

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

10. From Last Month: Help Me With the Winter Blahs

Last month Treena emailed us about ideas for keeping cheery during winter:

"Please ask your members for some ideas for me! I get the 'winter blahs' all through winter. I hate the cold and the rain, and it is dark when I get up and dark as soon as I get home. I really need some ideas on managing this time of year and staying chirpy. I hate the winter blahs!"

We got some fantastic ideas - thank you for sharing your wisdom! Here are some of our favourite replies:

When it's dull outside, brighten up the inside!

It may be dull outside in winter but you can really lift your spirits by brightening up your surroundings! It doesn't have to be expensive; it can be as easy as:

Changing your quilt to a floral that makes you smile (or just change the cushions to a cheerful pattern such as pink stripes).
Finding a mug that makes your heart sing; one of my favourites cost $0.50c at a local charity shop.
Having a winter declutter, and deep clean. Check out Peter Walsh's books for inspiration.

Don't forget to brighten YOU up too! My sister gave me a pair of fake red velvet flat shoes one year and every time I wore them they made me smile. I only stopped wearing them when they fell apart! Wear red lipstick, a splash of blush, swipe of mascara - whatever works to make you feel good for the rest of the day. Pick up a couple of cheap and colourful bracelets or invest in some bold pink, flamboyant red or cheeky purple nail polish for your nails.

Finally, find something fun to do in the evenings:

Learn a new craft, join a class or find 'how to' videos online.
Join a community group such as a choir or local theatre group.
Buy or borrow an exercise DVD to keep you motivated and fit when it's cold outside.
Challenge yourself to cook a new healthy soup/cake/main meal at least once a week
And last but not least, invite people over to show off your new, brighter surroundings!

Contributed by: Lara D

Ensure a happy winter with Vitamin D supplement

A simple Vitamin D supplement has given me my happiest winter I can remember in years! A couple of months ago I went for a full skin check with a doctor I was seeing for the first time. He asked about my skin/sun habits and told me that, as I work in an office and cover up when I am in the sun, I probably don't get enough Vitamin D. He suggested I take a supplement as apparently the amount in a multivitamin isn't enough. I found some Blackmore's Vitamin D 1000 IU on clearance at a local supermarket and stocked up. Within a week I noticed a marked positive improvement in my mood! Before, I had been taking a low dose of St John's Wort for what I thought was mild depression but have tossed that bottle out now, as since taking the Vitamin D the black clouds of winter have lifted!

Contributed by: AHouseOfMyOwn

Rug up and get out there!

I love winter! One thing I love doing is using my slow cooker in winter. Just a few minutes to get organised in the morning and you have a lovely hot meal ready for when you get home from work exhausted! Knitting is also a lovely thing to do during the colder months. If you don't already know how to knit, set yourself a challenge to learn and make something you will use, such as a cosy throw rug. A walk with my dog also exhilarates both me and him, even if it's just a quick one. I love layering up to keep warm. Enjoy all those beautiful winter clothes, woolens, boots and hats we can only wear at this time of year and just rug up and get out there!

Contributed by: Julianne G

Bring the sunshine in with calendulas

A perfect low-cost winter pick-me-up is a bunch of fresh flowers to enjoy in your home. We grow Calendula flowers all year round and a vase of them in our lounge room really cheers the room up!

Contributed by: Simmy

Don't suffer the blues alone

My mother always knew the perfect ways to keep the winter blues at bay! We would often walk into the house to the smell of soup, which was a fabulous way to shake the cold out and always felt great to be home. You can create this yourself even when working by preparing soup or a warming dish in the slow cooker before you leave for work so it's ready when you come home. We also had simple meals around an open fire - with no lights by choice, but it was so nice we always went to this as first option whenever there was a power cut too! We would also wrap up warmly and go for a walk on a Sunday afternoon to 'blow the cobwebs away' and would choose an exposed walk beside the beach. Everyone would come back battered and windblown but utterly recharged! Also, my father couldn't take long holidays in the summer so we did windy beach holidays in winter instead. I can vouch for this being fabulous too.

Other things you can do to lift your spirits are splurge on some early season spring flowers with lots of scent; our local thrift shops often sell bunches kindly donated by those with plenty. This can be factored in as part of charity giving, so you're not exactly splurging! Invite friends over for an informal cuppa; this is an especially great way to get to know a few neighbours that you aren't really acquainted with beyond brief hellos and brief chats. I've held a couple of these now and it's been fabulous, just give yourself a week to contact your guests, keep the snacks simple and enjoy. As a result we now have a great community bond, I've got extra walking companions, more folks who are happy to look after pets when others go away and each person has commented on feeling that little bit isolated before but no longer!

Also, our phone plan allows for long distance calls to other countries at the one combined rate per month as phoning anywhere in our country. If you can do this cheaply it is a great way to say hi to extended family. I try to phone someone I think would appreciate knowing they're being thought of every couple of weeks. It doesn't have to be long but it's nice to make those connections and keep in touch with friends who have moved away. I was labelled extremely shy as a child but all it takes is a little courage and the company of others, or simply hearing their voice down the phone line can really help you through a drab time of year.

Contributed by: lari C

Leave the 'home fires' burning

A warm, cosy atmosphere can do wonders to keep the winter blues at bay. When I was living on my own, I left a lamp on a timer in winter so that I never came home to a dark house. Just having a light on made the house look so much more welcoming. Effective heating also makes a difference - I love my heated lap rug!

Contributed by: Judith

Day and night, there will be light

I have found that the key to beating the winter 'blahs' is to get enough light. I used to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder - if the winter was a bright sunny one I was OK, but a winter of grey skies really impacted, leaving me very 'blah'. Fortunately the solution was mind bogglingly simple! I bought a special needleworker's daylight lightbulb for my upright lamp, which I use for reading and crafting in the evening. Because the light waves are the same as normal daylight, your body and mind think they have been out in strong daylight - so your mood doesn't plummet. SO simple and not expensive! You'll be astonished the difference it makes!

Contributed by: Austerity Alley

Recreate the sun with 2000 lumen light

The best way to deal with the winter blues is to get as much sunshine as you can, but if that isn't possible, fake it! A 2000 lumen light has the same effect as the sun and will provide the light you need to produce the right hormones to give Seasonal Affective Disorder the boot. Search online or ask at your local hardware store for the best one to suit you.

Contributed by: Julie

Helping others gives winter blues a lift

A great way to give the winter blues a lift without resorting to expensive retail therapy is to spend a little time helping others less fortunate than yourself. Community organisations always need volunteers, especially in winter, so ask around your area for a charity or homeless shelter where you can help. It's so rewarding, yet costs nothing and I guarantee you won't complain that it's winter again!

Contributed by: Ford Prefect

Don't be SAD, go for a walk!

I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately known as SAD) but find if I can force myself outside no matter the weather to walk around the block every day it helps. I try and walk without a hat or sunglasses to get maximum sun exposure but when it's wet a bright umbrella and gumboots really help to lift my spirits. People smile at me, probably because they think I'm mad but it works for me!

Contributed by: Roslyn

11. This Month's Help Request: Purchasing Safely Online

Donna has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"How do people spend safely online? For the first time ever, my Visa was 'stung' when it was used online for a very small transaction in Chinese currency. When I rang the bank, they cancelled it immediately and told me that one scam was to put through a few dollars and then if it goes unnoticed, put through a very large amount a couple of weeks later. I am very careful online - but obviously not careful enough. What kinds of things do people do to spend safely online?"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Donna, please send them in to us here.

12. Goodbye For Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for August and we hope you have enjoyed it. We hope you'll get some dirt under your fingers and plant just ONE something - a pot of herbs, maybe a small box of gourmet lettuce and cherry tomatoes. Growing your own food is a little bit of magic!

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

August 2016 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - August 2016

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Everything She Wants
August: Desert Island Dreams
Super Dooper Bumper Best Of The Vault
Best of the Forum: We're Not Going Without, We're Getting Ahead!
Best Members' Blog: The Techno Age
Best of SS Facebook: How to Stop Buying Things You Don't Need
Savings Story: Tears Turn to Triumph for Happy Declutterer

Hi,

The start of a new season is the perfect time to ditch old habits and replace them with shiny new ones instead. Over the years we have talked about 'wants versus needs' many times. While most people know what they are and can tell the difference, we don't always consider the effect they have on our lives and how they can trip us up. That's what this month's newsletter is all about! It's full to bursting with tons of brilliant and thought provoking tips to help you get closer to achieving your dreams. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

Wishing you a wonderful month,
Jackie

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Everything She Wants

"Brr, I'm sick of this cold weather!" Sally grumbled. "Lucky Hanna and John, sunning themselves in Bali!" "Yes, I know where I'd rather be right now!" chuckled Pete. "I wish we could afford a holiday," sighed Sally. "Fat chance of that though! Honestly Pete - first they're off on holiday, next they're moving to a beautiful new house. What next, a new Ferrari in the garage?"

"Ooh, do I detect a hint of sour grapes?" teased Pete. "Come on love, they work hard, they deserve a break as much as anyone else. Good on them I say!" "But we work hard too! You're right, maybe I am jealous but I don't understand it. Why is it Hanna always gets everything she wants?" Sally pouted. "I'm sure she doesn't get EVERYTHING she wants," Pete kissed the top of Sally's head. "I think she just wants different things than you do."

"What do you mean? I'd love a holiday and a new house!" Sally replied indignantly. "Yes - but Hanna earned those things by going without many things for many years. And when you don't waste money on the little things, you can afford big things like holidays. That's the difference, love," Pete explained gently. Sally glared at him with a look that could have curdled milk. "Well thank you very much, Peter. I said I wanted a holiday, not a lecture!"

2. August: Desert Island Dreams

Contrary to what Sally believes, Hanna doesn't get everything she wants. She has avoided wants and bought only what she needed for a long, long time. She didn't buy lots of clothes, lived with old furniture, went without a new car and fixed, patched, borrowed and mended wherever she could. Her patience and hard work has paid off and now she wants to finally enjoy her dream holiday; would you begrudge her that?

Like many people, Sally also longs for a tropical island holiday. She could get there, she's so close she's almost standing on the edge of it - but every cup of takeaway coffee, every pair of shoes, every new mobile phone she buys pushes her further and further away from ever setting foot on it, because she doesn't see them as a barrier. Until Sally recognises the distance that she herself is putting between her and her island, her holiday dreams and hopes for security will continue to elude her.

Is there a pile of junk between you and your dreams, like Sally's? Think about the things you frequently spend money on. Takeaway? Mobile top-ups? Cigarettes? Credit card purchases? How many of them need to be there? How many have you put there? These are your barriers. As long as you keep putting those barriers between you and your goals, you're never going to get there.

We all know the difference between a want and a need. This month focuses on identifying and eliminating all the things which are cluttering your path and getting in the way of what you REALLY want.

3. Super Dooper Bumper Best Of The Vault

When it comes to spotting the difference between a want and a need, our members are experts! We have so many terrific hints in the Vault on this subject that it was impossible to choose just a few. So this month we bring you a Super Dooper Bumper Best of the Vault, featuring no less than 25 of our favourite examples. Read on and see how easy it is to make a big difference to your finances by giving unnecessary wants the old heave-ho!

$66 saved in one caffeine-free month

I saved $66 in one month, just by giving up caffeine! I vowed I would not buy or consume coffee, chocolate or soft drink for a whole month and this was the result! Not only do I feel better for it I have an extra $66 to show for my efforts. I am convinced I can do even better next month and am planning a 'no sugar' month - no lollies, donuts or biscuits which I would normally buy. By doubling the challenge to include no caffeine AND no sugar, I believe I can double my savings to $120 per month! I have tried all sorts of ways to try and slash my grocery bill before this, but this has been the best I have come up with yet!

Contributed by: Meagan Widders

'Fish and chip philosophy' curbs spending

Our family lives by my 'fish and chip philosophy' which helps us put our spending priorities into perspective.

Whenever anyone in our family wants to buy something, we check if it's on special and then think about whether or not we really need it. To help us decide, I point out how the money spent on this item could be put toward fish and chips at the beach. We only have fish and chips occasionally, but it puts a concrete thought in our minds about how the money could be spent - on something frivolous now, or saved up and spent on a special treat for the whole family to enjoy.

Also, if someone comes home with something that they could possibly do without, I ask - 'how many fish and chips would that have bought?' This reinforces the point about being careful with money, without having to give a lecture about it!

Contributed by: Tanya O'Neill

'Grandma's Day' saves $30 a week on groceries

My husband and I have begun saving up to $30 per week on our grocery bill since we invented 'Grandma's Day!' When we go to the supermarket we ask ourselves, 'would Grandma have been able to buy this item in her day 60+ years ago?' If the answer is no, then we decide we don't need to buy it either! This saves us money on a whole range of items such as fancy dips, designer coffees and biscuits. We used to pay over $3.00 for a pack of 10 biscuits, now I can make 12 biscuits for around $1.00. Using plain yoghurt as a base we are even making our own dips; there are so many websites with great dip ideas. Now we are saving valuable money and our waistlines too!

Contributed by: Kitty

'Needs' and 'wants' jar system stops impulse buys

My 'wants' and 'needs' money boxes are saving me heaps of money in frivolous purchases. Every time I feel the urge to buy something I decide whether it is a 'want' or a 'need', write the item on a piece of a paper and put the paper into either my 'want' jar or my 'need' jar. At the end of the month I assess what's in each jar and decide if it really is a want or a need item. If it's a need I research the cheapest place to buy it, and it comes out of my weekly budget. More often than not I decide that I don't need the item, so the money stays in the bank!

Contributed by: Melissa

'Use what you have' - words to live by!

By having the words 'Use what you have' written as a reminder in your home (perhaps on a blackboard), it can help stop you from buying something you don't really need! Here are some examples of how this has helped us:

I had run out of soap, but as we had a stash of soaps from hotels where we had stayed, we used those up first. I also had samples of moisturiser which I used up before buying more, and will use up all my perfume before buying more.
When I wanted to buy a new pair of jeans, I used the ones I had until they were almost worn out. Now it is easier to justify a new pair!
I wanted to get a new doona for one of the boys. But after a rummage around in the cupboard, I 'used what I had' and found a couple of blankets. He now has a toasty warm bed.

The best part is you can usually create extra space at home while you use up what you have and save money!

Contributed by: Cor Quin

A little imagination can save a lot

Before I let myself buy something it has to pass the 'use it test'. I imagine buying it, taking it home and taking it out of the packaging. I think about where I'm going to put it and what I'm going to do with it. Then I imagine if I'll still be using it in a few weeks, months or years. If you find this hard you probably don't need it as much as you think you do!

Contributed by: Anon

Are evil muffins controlling your cash?

We control our cash by turning our spending weaknesses into our worst enemies! Whenever we get tempted to waste our money, we protect ourselves from what we call the 'evil muffins'. It's a handy little saying started by my brother and we all use it now to help us save. He used to love buying café-style muffins - until he realised his addiction was costing him $400 a year and stopping him from going on holiday. From then on, those tempting muffins became his evil foe! Whenever he sees them now, he refuses to let them ruin his holiday dreams. Instead of giving in and buying them, he thinks 'Ugh - what an evil muffin!'

Of course it doesn't have to be just about muffins; it could be Coke or a chocolate bar - whatever your usual preference! We often don't think about those 'small, insignificant' purchases each day - like a simple muffin. But add up all the 'muffins' you buy every week. When you realise how much they are costing you, you may find yourself looking at those small indulgences in a whole new light too. Don't let the evil muffins ruin your dreams!

Contributed by: Xenia N.

Avoid doing the Twenty Dollar Tango!

I am saving over $2000 a year by placing visual reminders around the house to help me stop making spontaneous purchases at the mall.

I estimate that this saves me around $2080 a year. Last year this was enough for my husband and I to have that holiday in Fiji, and this year we went to New York.

Contributed by: Eve

Beat the winter blues

Since the cold season began I have spent a lot of money on unnecessary items such as hiring DVDs, instant foods, takeaway and junk food. Life tends to take a turn for the worse from warm, sunny, happy days to dark, cold and rainy days which makes you feel depressed and not want to do anything.

I have decided to try and overcome my depressing state and make better use of my time and money. Here are a few of my tips:

I have made and frozen different flavoured soups so when I feel cold, down or in a hurry I can quickly make a warm, delicious snack.
I have decided to bake once a week with a friend (while I cook my dinner in the oven). Not only will this help heat my house but it will save money on buying junk food and biscuits too. Also having someone else here with me helps with not feeling down and depressed.
I am doing one thing each day to make myself feel special and uplift my mood. This helps curb my need for spending money too. I do simple things like painting my nails, giving myself time-out from the kids and making jewellery - which is both relaxing and rewarding. I recently made a necklace and earring set which I gave to a friend. She loves it which in turn makes me feel happy!

Don't let the winter blues get you down, do something special with your time for yourself and for others, you'll feel a lot better about yourself and whatever situation you're in.

Contributed by: Simone Wright

Change of attitude

For many years I shopped with the attitude of - 'It's my right to buy whatever I want, when I want it'. Recently though, I have changed my attitude to shopping and now go out with purse in hand and the thought - 'It's my right to buy whatever I need, when I need it'.

It does take a bit of self-control but the savings are worth it, as I now only buy those items I really need. This change has brought about many other benefits too. It is now a lot easier to see what is in my pantry as I don't have five bags of pasta sitting there, or five different types of coffee. Even my once disorganised wardrobe is thanking me because I now think hard about whether I really need new clothes rather than buying on impulse.

I am thankful for the tips I have picked up on Simple Savings and my bank balance is thankful too!

Contributed by: Serendipity

Confessions of a shopaholic

Transforming myself from a shopaholic to a smarter consumer has enriched my whole life. Not only am I saving money, my life has become deeper and more meaningful since I decided to live by the following rules:

Keep away from the shops
Buy only what you need
Buy second hand if you can
Be stylish, not fashionable
Don't buy what you can borrow
Stop reading glossy magazines that encourage shopping
Borrow books and magazines from the library
Read about simple living
Do it slowly
Spend more time with your family and friends.

These rules may sound simple, but they have changed my life. For as long as I can remember, I have loved shopping. I could easily do it all day, every day and never tired of it. I enjoyed the quest to find bargains or something I had 'always' wanted or didn't yet have.

When I felt angry, sad, lonely, fat, old, poor, disappointed, rejected, embarrassed or simply 'not good enough' - I went shopping. It made me feel better.

When I felt happy, confident, rich, delighted, loved, appreciated and 'on top of the world' - I celebrated by going shopping.

Although I work full time, I had never paid off my credit card and financially I was always struggling. Then I heard about climate change and the impact my shopping was making on the environment. That's when I decided I would stop shopping all the time.

At first, this decision left an enormous vacuum in my life. I used to be very busy - 'Never enough time in the day' was my mantra. Then suddenly I had lots of free time! I didn't have many really close friends, except my mother and sister. We often used to meet for a coffee and a chat while we were out shopping. But with all the free time I now had, I realised I had been too busy to make other meaningful friendships because of my constant shopping.

I don't meet my mum or sister at the shops any more. We now get together in each other's homes and, although I have always enjoyed their company, I rediscovered a deeper connection with them. We talk, laugh and cry for hours and hours. I am learning so much more about them. I have started to deepen the friendships I have with people who were just 'acquaintances' before. Instead of shopping, I invite them over for a cup of tea or lunch or for a walk along the beach. I'm even starting a book club.

Due to the money I was able to save from not shopping so much and because I wanted to entertain more, I rented out my small unit and moved to a lovely old house. However, I soon realised I needed more furniture, so I bought it all very cheaply, second hand from eBay. Everyone who visits my home says how wonderful and stylish it is. I love making cheap, affordable meals for my friends. I had my first party on New Year's Eve and 35 people came, each bringing their own meat, drinks or salads. To any shopaholics out there like me, it IS possible to change - I'm living proof!

Contributed by: Jane

Do you really need it? Ask before you buy

I am spending less simply by asking myself 'I didn't need this yesterday, so do I really need it today?' For example, there are lots of tempting winter clothes in the shops at the moment but I got through last winter properly clothed with the ones I already have, so do I really need new ones? When I see that lovely ornament, picture, dinner set, quilt cover and so on, I ask 'will it really change my life for the better?'. I only have to look around the house and add up in my head what all my impulse buys have cost me to realise they were not necessary!

Contributed by: Leonie

DVD rental money put to better use

Changing one of my husband's bad habits has enabled us to pay our car loan off faster! My husband is a DVD maniac - I wouldn't be surprised if he has seen every movie in our local store. I calculated he was spending approximately $50 per week on movies! So we made a deal on January 1st this year that in order for him to hire a movie, he must walk the 500 metre journey to the store instead of taking the car. He is also no longer allowed to pay full price for a rental; he can only hire a movie if he buys it using a savings coupon. In just 16 weeks, this small change of habit has enabled me to pay an extra three payments on our car loan!

Contributed by: Jenny Davidson

Enjoy a friend's company without spending

To take your mind off going shopping and spending, organise for a friend to come around for coffee instead. It's a great way to catch up with each other and enjoy someone else's company - no spending necessary! You could also alternate between them coming over, or you going to their place, then you are still going on an outing!

Contributed by: Toni

Farewell Foxtel, I'm better off without you!

I've just saved $1380 a year by cutting Foxtel and my house has never been cleaner! Why? Because the time I was spending watching shows that I previously just HAD to watch, is now spent making my house sparkle instead. My husband has just been made redundant and all unnecessary expenses had to go. Foxtel was first on the list and now we're finally getting to those niggly chores that we kept putting off. Watching 'Extreme Couponing' has now become real life 'Extreme Cleaning'!

Contributed by: Claire the dancing Brizvegan Bear

Follow the $1 per wear rule

I manage my clothes purchases by asking myself just one question. 'Can I get this item to $1.00 per wear?' What I mean by this is if I buy a $30 top, I need to be sure that I will wear it 30 times before a) I get sick of it, b) it gets worn out, or c) it goes out of fashion. A $30 top worn only three times equates to $10 per wear. I wear around five items every day, so I aim to pay no more than $5.00 per day for my outfits. Spending any more than that sounds ridiculously expensive and it really helps me put a purchase into perspective.

Contributed by: Shantal Jones

Friendship and community a cure for shopping

I have put an end to my shopaholic ways for good by volunteering at my children's school. When my eldest two were young I spent an awful lot of time 'shopping for company' and got myself into terrible debt. My eldest two are now at school and my younger two started day care six months ago as I wanted them to socialise with other children and give myself some time alone. When they first started I found myself going back to my old ways and, although I never spent any money (thanks to sheer willpower), I would wander the shops aimlessly. I became frustrated with myself and realised that I did not actually want all this time alone and would rather be busy doing things.

Then I got a note in my daughter's school bag asking for volunteers for the canteen, and I haven't looked back since. I now volunteer every Thursday, my children are proud to have me around and I have made some great friends and really feel part of a team. Not only that, but I don't spend a cent! I have enjoyed it so much that this year I decided to take on the role of coordinator for the school's soccer teams. It just goes to show that saving your money and spending your time buys you something priceless, not just material.

Contributed by: Rebecca Z.

Girl power pact curbs spending and encourages recycling

My girlfriend and I have made a pact that is helping to keep our spending down and protect the world's resources. We have agreed never to buy unnecessary items and we both support and encourage each other to stick to it. Our new motto is 'nothing is cheap if you don't need it'. We now avoid sales, where once we would have been the first there, we stay away from shopping centres and we buy things second hand from garage sales and op shops wherever possible. I have found I rarely need to purchase things from a store any more, as long as I am patient and look at used items with a 'renovator's eye'. We now see this as a new way of living and have a monthly competition where we track our spending to see which one of us has been the most frugal and inventive. This has done wonders for our budgets!

Contributed by: Cheryl Haining

Happiness and honesty saves on splurges

The easiest way I have found for me to save is to be honest with myself. After becoming aware that I was saying 'this will be my ONE indulgence while I save' at least once a day (with savings going nowhere - strange that!), I had to face the facts. I am not happy with what I am doing work-wise at the moment; therefore I vent my frustration by spending money on trifles. This simply keeps me in limbo, just numbing the 'pain' enough to go on and on. I now have a choice - either I change my job or my attitude. Either way, all these 'deserved indulgences' will no longer be necessary. Estimated savings - $3.50 per day for my coffee, with shoes and designer hair shampoo thrown in, I come up with a way to instantly save an easy $300-400 a month!

Contributed by: Maienkind

Is your vice worth the price?

Almost everyone has a vice of some kind. It could be cigarettes, coffee, chocolate or energy drinks, the list goes on! Everyone deserves a treat now and again, but have you ever added up how much your vice is REALLY costing you, not to mention depriving you? Now you can find out in just a few seconds, thanks to an amazing Vice Calculator at mozo.com.au/vice-calculator

Just hop online and answer a few basic questions, and if your vice is not listed on the page, no problem, you can enter in your own to get a personalised result. The important thing is that you enter in your estimate for how much your vice currently costs you each week and the calculator will tell you in an instant how much it will cost you over a lifetime if you keep up your current rate. You will be amazed. You will be horrified! But you might just end up thousands of dollars better off. It is a fantastic and thought provoking tool for all ages, so get the whole family involved!

Contributed by: Summer Breeze

Look but don't buy

I am a very impulsive, visual person and I love beautiful things. Consequently, any time I'm near a shop, there's a danger of overspending on gorgeous stationery, home wares, ribbons, books and so on. I also enjoy the string handled bags many of these items are packed in and love to inspect my purchases when I get home from shopping.

Since I enjoy the experience of looking for lovely things, it would be counterproductive for me to try and avoid shopping. What does work for me, however, is to take a beautiful notebook in a string handled bag and write down everything I would have bought on these expeditions, along with the stores and the prices. That way, I can still look and imagine but without the price tags! And the total at the bottom of the notebook page is my saving for the day. Last month that amounted to $260, enough for health insurance for our family, which we always claimed we couldn't afford.

This little change has saved our family over $3000 this past year. It's amazing how powerful you feel just having a list of what you wanted, even when you didn't buy those things. After a few days, most of what is on the list is forgotten and those very few items that still stand out in your mind can be the odd treat to yourself, or ideas to give to family and friends as birthday or Christmas gift requests.

Try it! You won't believe it works until you do.

Contributed by: Nicol Morgan

Our profitable pact

My husband and I made a pact to reduce our spending and cut up our credit cards this year. We now have to pre-arrange all purchases with each other, either before we leave for work in the morning or by phone during the day. This works for many reasons:

I rarely take my mobile phone with me so, more often than not, my husband can't reach me to ask if he can buy something. In the time it takes for me to listen to his message and get back to him, he has usually changed his mind about the purchase anyway!
If I have to call my husband before buying something frivolous, I choose not to, simply because I don't want to justify buying a trashy magazine, a custard tart or an eBay bargain. I just do without and I don't give it a second thought once I leave the shops or go offline.
We can give each other a second opinion on whether or not we really need to buy that item. One of us might know of a cheaper alternative, of someone who can lend us the item or even remember that we already have the item at home.

Our strict pact certainly works for us - we have paid $1500 off our credit cards in the last three weeks!

Contributed by: Science Nerd

Save by not buying 'stuff'

I found this very interesting video that can really help the way you think about buying less. It takes 20 minutes to view and you will learn, as well as laugh, as Annie Leonard looks at the way our production and consumption patterns affect our environmental and social issues.

storyofstuff.org

Contributed by: Jan

Savvy saving or dumb debt?

Upon visiting one of those daily deal websites I saw that they had Frozen themed single duvet covers for $24.95. Before I knew it, I had four of them in my cart, one for each child, and was about to make a whopping saving of $167.52! My credit card was already in my hand when my brain woke up and reminded me that we don't actually need new duvet covers and that, while the kids would like them, it wasn't going to make anyone's life any better. That $167.52 saving was actually just going to be a new dumb debt of $112.44 running up interest on my credit card.

This is big for me - I think I may have turned a corner!

Contributed by: Maxed Out Mama

Stay loyal to your budget, not stores

I have realised that one of the best ways for me to save money is to leave all my store loyalty cards at home. While cleaning out my bulging purse recently, I realised that it was bulging for the wrong reason. Instead of being full of cash, it was full of loyalty cards! Over the years the marketers had worked their magic on me and as a reforming Sad Sally I was upset with myself. For example, if you are a VIP with Sussan, for every $500 you spend there they give you a $50 voucher - which expires in three months. I realised I had been shopping there for women's fashion to the exclusion of most other stores and over two years had spent a whopping $2500 to get $250 in vouchers! That's $105 per month and while good quality, I have since realised similar items in other shops cost less at normal price.

Even more annoying was the number of times I had gone there and bought garments at full price because I knew I'd get VIP points, only to find the same items a couple of weeks later on their reduced racks, making the justification of their points useless.

So I decided that from now on all my loyalty cards will be kept in a wallet safely at HOME. If I want something I will shop around for it. Most stores have hold times so I can always go back if it's in one of the 'loyalty' stores. So far I have saved two months of cruising the racks of Sussan and other stores. That's $210 I've managed to hold on to so far and still counting!

Contributed by: Olivera Sands

True wealth comes in many forms

I am richer than I've ever been thanks to my Simple Savings outlook. When I first joined SS I made a number of small but significant changes to my life and the savings and benefits immediately began to add up. Here are a few of them:

I almost halved my grocery bill in a month - it went from $815 in February to just $430 in March when I started shopping at Aldi and carefully tracked every cent. I discovered my 'inner baker' and instead of buying cakes and biscuits, I baked them from scratch at home. When my washing machine broke down, instead of having to pay out $700 for a new one my wonderful boss gave me an old spare machine they had and no longer used. I made two calls to my insurers, one for my car and one for my house, and found I could save $150 and $400 respectively on my yearly payments. I checked my mobile plan. Because I hardly use it, it was not working in my favour. I changed to a prepaid plan and now what I spend is what I use.

And, finally, I stopped looking for another job to earn extra money. Every dollar I save means time I don't have to work. I am now building my 'wealth' every day in more ways than one.

Many of my friends I used to envy have new cars, impressive houses, expensive clothes - and huge credit card bills. They holiday in Bali or Queensland but work 40 hour weeks in order to do so. They pick up tired and stressed children from after school programs and feed them take away foods because they're too short on time and energy to cook from scratch.

I have a 13-year-old car, a 1980's house, cheap clothes - and NO credit card debt. We holiday three times a year for a week at a time in our trusty 80's caravan and I work 20 hours a week, during school hours, for four days a week. I have one day just for me (or housework). My children walk to and from school and come home to baked goods, home-cooked meals and a happy relaxed household. I'm there to oversee and help with homework and I watch all their sports games.

Ask me again if I want another job to have the 'stuff' I once thought I wanted/needed and my answer will be a clear, precise, 'No way'. Thank you Simple Savings for helping me to step back and see what's really important in life.

Contributed by: Di P.

4. Best of the Forum: We're Not Going Without, We're Getting Ahead!

One of the best things about the Savings Forum is the motivation and encouragement you can find there. It's the perfect place to share all your savings triumphs and tribulations and stay accountable to each other. Here are just some of the excellent 'wants versus needs' discussions and challenges our busy members have been undertaking.

'We've got no money, so we must think'

When finances are short it is often necessary to get creative in order to achieve what we need to without spending. After reading this quote from Nobel Prize winner Ernest Rutherford, GoGo Goanna wants to know how other members 'think' their way out of spending money.
read more...

Not buying it!

No books, no takeaway, no new clothes - Happy Aspie has been inspired by Judith Levine's book 'Not Buying It' and has decided to apply its principles to her own life, one month at a time. Follow her progress (and feel free to join her!) in this series of threads.
read more...

Sacrificing now to be better off in the future

As her name suggests, 'Not your typical Gen Y' is just that and is not impressed with the media stereotype of her generation! She isn't scared to make sacrifices to reach her goals and wants to know what other members have also changed or given up in order to ensure a secure future.
read more...

The value of nothing - people know the price of everything and the value of nothing

As Oscar Wilde famously wrote, 'nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing'. But decades later, are we even further away from an understanding of the real cost of what we consume? This fascinating thread started by Donna is well worth a read.
read more...

My 2016 op shop clothing challenge

Farmer Susy made a great saving last year on her work clothes by purchasing them from local op shops. This year she is going one further by vowing to buy ALL her clothes this way and wants to know who would like to join her? Save the planet and save a bundle by jumping on to this thread.
read more...

Reducing day by day

Knighty was horrified recently when she calculated how much she and her hubby were spending on average each day. Since then, she has kept careful tabs on their daily spending and made non-essentials a thing of the past. Read how much of a difference it has made here!
read more...

Run your household like a business

'Think positive' and her family have the potential to save $400 a week - but it's going to take some staunch application! So from now on, they have agreed to run their home like a business and everyone is responsible for making it work - kids included! A great idea and a very interesting and enjoyable thread.
read more...

5. Best Members' Blog: The Techno Age

This month's Blog winner is Bexta with her very well written and thought provoking post 'The Techno Age'.

The Techno Age

Sometimes I feel that my generation (I'm 27) have a hard task ahead of them when it comes to saving money. We live in an age where we are constantly viewing other people's life choices, without necessarily 'really' seeing what is happening. We have smart phones, we have tablets and laptops and PC's, these devices are almost like opening a portal between our lives and anyone else we come into contact with over social media. And often, what we see is only a snapshot. A small portion of time. One choice.

We get to see the purchase of a new car, home or lounge. We get to see holidays and fashion parades. We get to see a life as the owner of the profile has created in their digital world. What we don't get to see is the repercussions of a single choice. We don't see bank balances or inside closets. Often, we don't see the real truths that are staring us right in the face. Based on the snapshots we see, we form opinions and make assumptions.

It's a scary age really; there are so many outside influences to contend with. Going home after a long day and leaving the hustle and bustle behind isn't really what it once was. Because, so many of us go home and use our social media accounts as a way to unwind, relax and chill out. But what we are doing at that moment in time is opening ourselves up to how our car is getting a bit old, the guy down the road got a great deal on finance, he seems to be doing OK, we could do that. All of a sudden we 'need' a new lounge, the kids 'need' an over the top birthday party and we all 'need' a ritzy holiday. Because, well, everyone's doing it.

I call us the Jones generation. Because everyone is keeping up with the Joneses. I should clarify that I am being very general in saying that everyone my age is like this. Not all of us are like this, a lot are though. And fighting against that can sometimes feel like you are unsuccessfully swimming upstream.

We try very hard not to buy into the Jones generation, to the point where I no longer view Facebook. People's personal lives and their digital lives sometimes don't correlate, leaving an impression that doesn't actually exist. It's hard though, it really is all around us, constantly telling us ideals of your life could be simpler, mundane tasks could be gone, more time to enjoy the finer things, your children could play quietly together, it goes on and on and on. The real kicker is this though, we get these ideas of what we 'need' from the outlets we utilise in our 'free time', we buy these things to give us more 'free time', often we then have extra time to spend being exposed to all those things that we 'need', we jump straight back onto the ferris wheel of the Jones cycle...

Ultimately we are all in control of our own life choices, where we spend our money, how we live, what we eat etc. We have choices to make and blaming these outlets is unfair, we have our own responsibility to take where wants are merged with needs. It's interesting though, how times have changed, how I worry about what my children and my children's children will have to contend with. Hopefully minimalism continues to be hip and we will all be better off!

Brilliant stuff Bexta, thank you so much for sharing!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

6. Best of SS Facebook: How to Stop Buying Things You Don't Need

Love Facebook or hate it, the Simple Savers Facebook group is a great way to learn even more tips and enjoy reading other members' successes. One of our favourite posts this month comes from Kylie, who draws our attention to an excellent and very timely read.

With spring very nearly upon us, now is the perfect time to get cleaning and decluttering. But even more importantly than clearing space and getting rid of unwanted stuff is ensuring that we don't make the same costly mistakes again. This excellent article will help you to identify and assess your shopping habits, steel your resolve and see through all those sneaking marketing ploys that got you to buy that stuff in the first place. Thank you for sharing, Kylie!

Joining our busy Facebook community is super easy. Either search up 'Simple Savers' on Facebook or click this link and request to join. Once you're in, let the fun begin!

7. Saving Story: Tears Turn to Triumph for Happy Declutterer

My new love of decluttering has finally got me on the road to a house deposit! For years I have had a budget and was very money conscious but still couldn't control my spending habits. I felt as though I had tried a million different things to stop impulsive purchases but hated not getting what I wanted. This led me into frustration and a hate towards everything involving money.

I finally found the answer when my partner expressed his concern with our lack of wardrobe space in comparison to the rate of growth of my wardrobe items. He made a rule that if one thing was to come in, I also had to take out one thing to donate. I had a rocky start and there were many tears but once I decided on a couple of items I seemed more inclined to get rid of more and more and I continued on to declutter ALL my possessions. Going through each item in my house I got rid of a lot of things but before I tossed them out, I first laid them out on my bed and just thought about how much money I had thrown away. How many hours had I had to work to pay for all these things that I didn't even love?

It hit me hard that I had blown all this money on impulse purchases and trends that I got over very quickly. Hundreds of hours of hard work, for me to essentially throw my money in the bin. I printed all my banking transactions for the 12 months prior to my breakthrough and highlighted all my purchases that I probably could have gone without. It all added up to over $8000, over 300 hours of hard work, the cost of my first two cars!

Now when I see something I want to buy, I stop and think back to how much money I've wasted already. And I can feel content in my decision not to purchase. I love fashion, I love shoes and I love bags. But I LOVE my new found freedom and the control over my finances that decluttering has given me even more!

Contributed by: Jaymee Hams

8. Goodbye for Now

That's another newsletter done and dusted! We hope you have enjoyed it and found it helpful, especially the Super Dooper Vault selection! Do let us know how you go with your 'Desert Island decluttering' too, we would love to hear how it works for you!

Until next time,
Jackie

December 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - December 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Can I Help?
January is No Screens Month!
Aussie Street Party Update!
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Square Eyes
Best of the Vault: We Love No Screens!
$21 Challenge Update
Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Tough Love
Homeopathy Corner: A Day in the Life
From Last Month: Singles Need Help Too!
This Month's Help Request: Holiday Food for Hungry Teens

Hello,

Happy New Year! I hope you are having a fantastic holiday and are ready for 2011. We have spent the holiday chilling out at home and have been having a lot of fun cooking, reading and playing together. It has been wonderful. I even like the rain because it means we are all inside in the one room bonding together. One day we entertained ourselves by making one of Oprah Winfrey's video assignments. It was so much fun! Tristan loves the video so much he has watched it at least eighty times! You can find out more about that in the $21 Challenge Update below.

Also, if you haven't got your 2011 War on Debt calendar yet, it's not too late! We will be following it all year, so download and print your copy here to get started.

We're really looking forward to hearing all about your savings successes this year. Letters like these ones really make our day!

"I just wanted to share the success in my financial situation with you. As of this week the personal loan - which I had started to regard as a regular bill - has finally been paid off! The Mastercard limit has been reduced from $1900 to $1000 (the lowest limit I could get). The cash advance will be finished in six more payments and Radio Rentals will be done by the end of March. This has taken me two years of hard work and budgeting but I am so close now to being debt free, it's thrilling. On remembering your advice to shop around and consider carefully, I found a second hand lap top with a large screen for $200 cheaper than the smaller, brand new mini laptop. With the money I have free now I will be starting a freelance journalism course by correspondence. If it wasn't for the help I have gotten from your newsletters and book I would still be struggling to get by. Now, no bill I get will ever be a problem to take care of. Thanks ever so much!" (Beverley Allen)

"After receiving your regular emails I was finally tempted to subscribe - great decision - I saved my subscription with one hint! Will recommend you to all my friends. Thank you!" (Carol Turnbull)

"I have been a fan of your site for a long time now and often direct people to you but it has taken me until now to try the $21 Challenge. Well, this week I did it. I fed my family of six for just $20.60. I was so excited that I told everyone! No one believed it would work and they thought I must have had ample supplies in my kitchen already. On the contrary, I had minimal amounts of several things but it forced me to be creative. My husband was skeptical (yet quite impressed) that I had spent such a small amount. But I could tell by the look on his face that he was doubtful that he'd be happily fed! Well, I have surprised everyone, including myself. We have had square, nutritionally sound meals, plus snacks every day for the week. Now for once I actually truly NEED to go grocery shopping. But it means I can include Christmas meals in my fortnightly budget this time and come out on top!" (Rebecca Zahra)

"I just had to write and tell you. Your $21 Challenge book saved me money even before I opened it! I have a loyalty card with Dymocks and as luck would have it, as I purchased your book I had earned enough credits to receive $6.00 off my purchase. I thought how apt it was that it was your book that I saved on. So I thought to myself that this must be an omen. For the next two days I sat and read it from cover to cover. My first real saving directly from the book was last night's dinner. I had forgotten to get any meat out and normally this would have me running to the closest take away. But remembering what I had read, I did a quick stocktake of my fridge and found that I had enough vegetables to make a stir fry. Having no sauce was not a problem, I made my own. Then to top that off, the apples I was about to throw away because they were past their best, I made into an apple and blueberry crumble. The kids thought I was the best cook out! Not only did they get a yummy and nutritious dinner, but dessert too. Now I have proved to myself that your system works, it is now time to do a serious stocktake and get down to business." (Narelle Fasulo)

Happy New Year!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

PS: Fly with Simple Savings! Well kind of *grin*. If you happen to be travelling with Virgin Blue, you can read all about us in their current Voyeur magazine for all in-flight passengers. If you're not flying on holiday anywhere, however, you can still read the fantastic article by Alix Clark online at http://new.simplesavings.com.au/downloads/189/

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Can I Help?

"Thanks for the cuppa, I'd better be on my way," Sally smiled as she made her way to Hanna's door. "Oh - thank you!" she said in surprise as a small hand quickly grabbed her empty cup, popped it into the dishwasher and turned it on. "Hey, I was going to do that!" came another voice in loud protest. "Mum can I empty the dishwasher when it's finished? She did it last time!"

"Yes, alright," Hanna rolled her eyes and grinned at Sally, who stood frozen in the doorway, mouth agape. "Did I just hear right?' she asked in disbelief. "Your kids actually WANT to empty the dishwasher? Are they sick?" "No!" laughed Hanna. "They just want to play computer games. They're earning screen time!"

"I told the kids there was no way they were spending the summer holidays glued to computer and video games," Hanna explained. "So we struck a deal. If they want to use them, first they have to help around the house. Emptying the dishwasher entitles them to 30 minutes screen time, taking the rubbish out gets them 10 minutes and so on." "Aha, now I see why they're so keen to do it!" laughed Sally. "Thank you, Hanna, I think you've given me the perfect cure for our family's square eyes. I really must be going!"

2. January is No Screens Month!

If you are wondering where the inspiration for this month's Sally and Hanna story comes from, it comes from my house. At the moment it is MY kids who are begging and squabbling over who gets to empty the dishwasher. Yes - they actually beg to empty it and think I am the best mother in the world if I sneak up behind one of them, quietly tap them on the shoulder and whisper. "The dishwasher is ready!" Then the lucky chosen child quietly stops what they are doing and sneaks over to empty the dishwasher before any of their siblings notice. I am not joking. This is really what happens! My children beg to do chores and I have last year's No Screen Month and my mother to thank for it.

You see, No Screens Month in the Lippey household last January was a disaster. My mum was visiting for the whole month and thought it was mean that her grandchildren were banned from watching screens. So, she ignored Matt's and my wishes and brought her laptop, a handful of 'new' DVD's and an iPhone and plonked my children in front of the screens for hours and hours and hours on end. After several weeks of this, I confess to having a little tantrum. OK - I had a BIG tantrum.

Luckily for my family, it was a very productive tantrum. After the steam coming out of my ears had cooled a bit I sat and thought, "Right - how can I make this work? How can I work out a system that will appease my mother, suit my kids, my husband, me and the rest of society before my cup of tea cools?" (OK I made up the bit about the cup of tea...)

The biggest problem last January was that Mum thought I was depriving my children by not letting them watch TV or play computer games for hours on end. However, I think leaving children in front of screens for hours on end is depriving them of life skills and vital experiences. We both want what is best for my children, so Mum and I came to a compromise. The kids could enjoy their screen time - as long as they EARNED it. If they wanted to spend half an hour playing a computer game or watching a DVD they had to do something to earn it first. We started by doing half an hour of writing practice to earn half an hour of screen time but over the past 11 months we have moved on from there and now live by the following rules:

The house must be clean before anyone is allowed to use their screen time. (The reason for this is if the kids get settled in and start watching a movie I have no chance of getting them to clean up their mess. And, I am not going to scurry around them cleaning the house while they sit on their butts watching a movie. The house must be cleaned first.)
If you want to use screen time before school, everything must be done. Breakfast eaten, lunch made, teeth clean, shoes on, hat in car, bag packed, homework finished and so on.
If you want use your screen time in the afternoon, you must first have emptied your school bag, put it away and done your homework.
Screen time for education or work purposes is free. Screen time for entertainment (games, movies, playing and so on) must be earned.
If the children share the task, they have to share the time allocated to that task depending on how much of the actual work they did.

Here is how my children earn their screen time:

Emptying the dishwasher = 30 minutes screen time
Cooking dinner = 30 minutes
Making everyone's lunch = 30 minutes
Sweeping the floor = 30 minutes
Folding a basket of washing = 30 minutes
Bringing in the washing = 15 minutes
Cleaning and setting the table = 20 minutes

This system works brilliantly for us but you are welcome to work out different pay rates for your household. You may like to include screen payments for doing homework or taking out the rubbish, whatever applies to your family. The things you need to think about when creating your screen payment list is how much screen time you want your children to have and how many tasks you want them to be doing around the home, then work backwards from there.

Our new screen currency system has been fantastic, but it has had a few teething problems. You may find you experience the same when you first introduce it into your household. You may face some tough opposition from your loved ones; especially if they have taken their screens, Xboxes, computers and you for granted until now. To help with this period of transition we have started a Forum thread for advice and support. This is a place where you can share your frustrations and triumphs and ask Fiona and other members for help so we can band together and convert your resident couch potatoes into helpful house potatoes!

Here is a link to the thread: Creating Helpful House Potatoes

The Savings Forum is a members-only feature. If you would like to become a member and gain instant access to this and thousands of other threads in the Forum, it costs $47 to join for the first year and just $21 to renew each year. As an extra bonus for Vault members, we have also introduced gift memberships at a special price. From now on, if you are a current Vault member you can give your friends or family a full year of membership for just $21! Click here to order.

3. Aussie Street Party Update!

We had a fantastic response to our very first Street Party campaign, reaching a grand total of 112 parties registered to take place on December 5th! Thank you to everyone who supported us, we hope you had a fantastic street party. Don't forget to write in and tell us all about it! Kirstin from the SS staff was one of the first to register her street party and was really pleased with the results:

"When my neighbour responded to her street party invitation with 'But, I don't know anyone,' I knew we were doing the right thing. Even though there are only a handful of families in the street, we didn't all know each other. The Aussie Street Party was the perfect opportunity, and something I'd wanted to do ever since we moved into this new street five years ago.

"We all brought a plate to share and our own chairs and drinks and chatted about all kinds of things, from which lawn was being grown, our families, successes and failures in the garden and to the shared issue we all have with the drainage system in the street. It really was a chance to get to know each other and have a good natter.

"Since then, Brett has helped a neighbour with his computer and he gave us a bunch of garlic chives for our vegie patch. Now, when we greet each other we use names, it's not just a polite wave. As the spare blocks fill up over the years it will be terrific to see our neighbourhood grow. We're all looking forward to next year's street party and wonder how many more families will join our neighbourhood."

If you haven't entered the competition yet, don't panic! There is still time. You have until January 7th to tell us all about your party AND maybe win a cash prize! Simple Savings and That's Life! are giving away $1000 in prizes. All you have to do is tell us in as much detail as you can about your street party - before, during and after. How did you feel handing out your invitations? Were you nervous? How many people came to your party? What funny things happened? Has anything changed for the better in your neighbourhood since your street party? Feel free to send in photos too - the more the merrier! As a reward for your efforts in helping us to bring back the good old days, one lucky winner will get $500 cash, with five runner up prizes of $100. Simply email your party stories to tl.greataussiestreetparty@pacificmags.com.au. Good luck and thanks for entering!

4. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

Don't forget, if you're a Vault member you can win a cash prize of $100 each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Naomi D for her post "It's beginning to feel a lot like..." taken from her blog "A soft place to fall". Naomi has been busy this month getting her family ready for Christmas. We love her festive photos and will definitely be putting some of them into practice for next Christmas.

...Christmas!

Long time no blog - where have I been? Enjoying life with my babies and all that comes with it!

Decorating the house...

Making a family activity advent calendar...

Front view:

Back view - excuse the flash!

Baking stained glass cookies...

Smelling the scent of Christmas from our pomanders...

And kissing the gorgeous husband because the moustache he grew for Movember is finally gone and he raised $400!

Love and light to you all at Christmas!

Congratulations Naomi, we wish you and your family a wonderful 2011! To read more from Naomi, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Best of the Forum: Square Eyes

Just in case you need any further reason to restrict the screen time in your household, here are some great discussions on the topic in the Savings Forum!

Consuming Kids - The Commercialisation of Childhood

The best way to explain this thread is to watch the TV link given at the start! Compelling viewing.
read more...

War on Debt 2010 - January No Screen Challenge

You can always count on Claire M to keep our Forum members organised and on track with their calendar challenges! This thread is from last year's No Screens Month but is well worth revisiting.
read more...

How much television does YOUR child watch?

Princess Pauper asks the question and receives some quite varied answers in this interesting and thought provoking thread!
read more...

Television and children

If the much loved children's author Roald Dahl were still here, he would be right behind our No Screens Month! His poem 'Television' reproduced in this thread will soon have you reaching for the 'off' button on your TV! A must-read.
read more...

Playstation and a 4 year old

How young is too young for a Playstation? And once they get one, how the heck do you get them off it? If your child is obsessed with video games, you won't want to miss this discussion!
read more...

Nintendo games causing eye strain?

Are your kids too 'wired' to sleep? Read this thread and put an end to the headaches!
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: We Love No Screens!

Do you think you can't live without TV and video games? Think again! Here is a selection of some Vault tips from members who have discovered they can live very happily without screens!

Organise your life and save - turn off the TV!

I have discovered that pressing one little button is the key to a calmer, more productive life and is saving me heaps of money. All this has been achieved since I made the decision to turn off my TV! The TV used to suck up an extraordinary amount of time, but now we ONLY have the TV on if there is something scheduled we specifically want to watch. This means that evenings are no longer spent on the couch. Instead, the house is clean and tidy, there are home-made snacks in the cupboard and extra meals in the freezer. This has also put a stop to emergency trips for takeaway or grabbing something quick from the supermarket. I estimate that over the last year this has saved around $30 per week in junk food ($1560 per year) and living stress-free is nothing short of priceless!

Contributed by: Diane

'No screen' for 20 years

When our children were still young, our TV stopped working and we decided not to replace it. Instead the children got to enjoy more play time after school and we also took them to the library on a regular basis to borrow books.

On one occasion, in order to get through a mountain of ironing, I borrowed a combined TV/video player and watched videos while ironing. The children also got to watch something after school. After the video, they said they were going to go and play, but to their dismay they found out that the time allocated for playtime had been taken up with watching the 'box'. They were not happy!

It's been 20 years since we had a TV and our children have grown up. They are determined that when they have children, their kids will not have a TV either.

Contributed by: Galligina

A decade of 'No Screen'

My family has been involved in 'No Screen' sessions for the last 10 years! As my four kids are all still at school, we have no screens from Monday to Thursday, unless it is specific to homework, at which stage it becomes a half hour session. This ensures there is time for afternoon tea, playtime, music practice and homework. On weekends and school holidays, the screen times are limited to a half hour computer session for each child per day, while the TV is turned off at 10 in the morning and doesn't come on again until after dinner.

There are no complaints, as we've been doing this for so long. We borrow DVD's from the library, which cost us nothing to rent, rather than watch the commercial channels. The kids don't know what they are missing as we don't get a TV guide either!

Contributed by: Bronwyn Cartledge

Ban the gadgets and get your kids back!

I have saved on electricity and restored some balance in our house by banning the electrical gadgets! The habitual scene in our house when the kids came home from school was becoming a concern to us. As soon as they'd dropped their school bags the kids plugged themselves into the TV, computer, stereo or iPods; conversation died and activity was nil! So I took control back and put a ban on anything electrical being turned on within 15 minutes of returning from school. Wow! By the time 15 minutes was up, they were reading books, outside playing or helping me in the kitchen and had all but forgotten about the electrical items. I am not sure exactly how much we have saved, but the kids have definitely benefited from this. Being outside running around, sharing books or playing games together has made for a much, happier household and conversation is back! I look forward to seeing our next electricity bill because I know, even if it is just a little bit smaller, we are all richer.

Contributed by: Sharee Breed

Ditch the TV

One of the best things I have ever done is ditch my television. Here's why you should do it too!

You can earn some extra cash by selling your TV.
You no longer waste time sitting in front of the box every night. You can use the extra time to invest in personal development or to do things you enjoy. Save some cash by starting a home vegetable patch or free up your weekend by doing household chores at night, instead of watching television.
You are no longer bombarded by advertisements which make you want to buy more than you actually need.

Forgetting about the television has been a win-win-win for me!

Contributed by: Kendall Hurren

Pay TV takes a permanent holiday

We are planning a holiday so I phoned Foxtel and found out that you can take a break from your contract once a year, for a period of one week to three months, and only pay $5.00 per month.

We have decided to go one step further and use these three months as a saving, and then cancel the contract. We are currently paying $88 per month for Foxtel; this will save us $1056 per year. $88 pays for four tickets to the cinema every month or a live play every two months. We decided our money was best spent on quality rather than quantity, so we're happy to cancel our contract. We also found that we were searching for things to watch on Foxtel just because we had paid for it, and this was not a very good use of our time. Now we are eagerly planning our holiday with the spare time we have from not watching TV!

Contributed by: Denise Pastor

More hints for Vault members:

'No Screen' is a relaxing money saver Contributed by: Marie Chandler

'No Screen', no big loss Contributed by: Vicky Booth

A big yes to 'No Screen' Contributed by: June Davies

Changing children's TV watching habits Contributed by: Rosemary Downs

DVD rental money put to better use Contributed by: Jenny Davidson

7. $21 Challenge Update

This month the $21 Challenge book has been helping some lucky bank customers on their way to an even more prosperous New Year! The lovely ladies at a branch of the BNZ bank in New Zealand has been merrily handing out copies of The $21 Challenge as a special Christmas gift to selected customers in recognition of their sterling efforts to save all year. Good on you BNZ!

Warning - Super Cute Video Alert!

Last month we shared some adorable photos of three-year-old Master Tristan Lippey making his favourite jelly ice blocks. This month the whole family has been busy making the fantastic home-made pizza recipe from page 161 of the $21 Challenge book. If you thought making your own pizza bases was too hard, you've obviously never tried this recipe! It's so easy and delicious, once you give it a go, you'll never want to buy pizza again!

Fiona and the kids enjoy making pizzas so much they even made up a song about it! In fact, they went one better and made a video of them all singing it and sent it to Oprah Winfrey, so she could see how cooking brings their family together! If you would like to see the video, you can watch it on Oprah's brand new OWN channel here:

http://myown.oprah.com/community/library/video_detail.html?entity_id=208725372&media_id=8

To view the video click the link or the image above.

They all loved making the video and hope you enjoy watching it too. If you like the video, please tell your friends, click the 'like' button on Facebook and pass it on! When you do this, you will be doing something really important. You will be helping us to get the $21 Challenge book into America. We hear so much about the poor eating habits in the US and know that we can help families over there learn to cook and eat cheaper, healthier food just as we have done in Australia and NZ. But it's hard to get noticed when you're half a world away. For the past year we have been trying to get a copy of the book to Oprah but so far it has proved impossible; nobody even responds to our emails *pout*. Making videos like these is about as close as we can get to getting noticed in the US, so if you like our video and the $21 Challenge, please help us by sharing it with everyone you know. The more people who hear about us, the sooner we can start doing in the US what we do best - helping people!

Also, mark your War on Debt calendars for February because Fiona is doing a library tour of the Sunshine Coast! She will be talking at the following libraries and would love to see you there:

IMPORTANT: Although they are free to attend, these are booked events. You will need to ring the library and reserve a seat.

Cooroy Library, Thursday 3rd Feb, 6pm - 40 seats - (07) 5454 9000
Coolum Library, Tuesday 15th Feb, 10am - 25 seats - (07) 5343 2000
Kawana Library, Thursday 17th Feb, 10am - 30 seats - (07) 5458 6500
Maroochydore Library, Thursday 17th Feb, 2.30pm - 40 seats - (07) 5475 8900
Caloundra Library, Monday 21st Feb, 10am - 30 seats - (07) 5499 5444
Nambour Library, Tuesday 22nd Feb, 10am - 35 seats - (07) 5441 8332
Noosa Library, Thursday 24th Feb, 10am - 25 seats - (07) 5442 4411

You can also book your tickets online from the calendar page of the Sunshine Coast Libriaries website. Here is the link:
Sunshine Coast Libraries Events Calendar.

8. Cooking with Mimi

Fiona and the kids have been having a ball these holidays cooking Mimi's recipes. Take the time this No Screens Month to get cooking in the kitchen with your children. These recipes are heaps of fun to make and delicious too!

Granita

This is very similar to the wicked looking slushies that kids love but much cheaper and far healthier. They won't believe how simple it is to make their own!

Equipment:

Food processor or blender
Sharp knife
Medium saucepan
Loaf pan
Fork

Ingredients:

600g fruit, chopped coarsely
2 cups orange juice
1/3 cup sugar

Blend or process your fruit until smooth. Place juice and sugar in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in the fruit puree. Pour the mixture into a loaf pan and cover with foil. Freeze for two hours. Remove from the freezer, and using the fork, scrape to roughen and loosen the ice crystals. Cover and return to the freezer for around six hours. Stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping into small bowls or cups to serve.

Twice Baked Potatoes

When you mention the title of this recipe to your kids, you'll see their brains going into overdrive trying to imagine what this could possibly be. One try and you'll have a hard time convincing them to eat potatoes any other way!

Equipment:

Baking tray
Large bowl
Potato masher

Ingredients:

Sufficient large potatoes to allow one or two halves per person, scrubbed well until clean
Milk
Butter if desired
Selection of add-ins e.g. cheese, diced ham or bacon, corn kernels or creamed corn, baked beans

Wrap the cleaned potatoes in foil and bake at 180C for up to one hour or until a skewer goes in easily.

Remove the potatoes and allow to cool. Refrigerate if necessary.

Halve the potatoes lengthwise, and scoop out the cooked flesh, leaving enough clinging to the peel to form a little 'bowl'.

Mash the removed potato flesh with your add-ins.

Scoop the mixture back into the shells of the potatoes, piling it up generously.

Return to the oven to bake for a further 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve as a main with a side salad, or on its own as a snack or side dish.

Fruity Pancake Sauce and Syrupy Stewed Fruit

This is a great frugal recipe and yields two yummy dishes in one! Kids and grown ups alike will love this fruity sauce for pancakes, filled with the stewed fruit or over ice cream. Both fruit and syrup will last up to two weeks if kept in the fridge.

Equipment:

Sharp knife
Medium saucepan
Bottles with lids
Airtight containers

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
250g fruit, washed and diced. Any overly soft fruit is great.

Place your sugar and water in the saucepan over a low heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the syrup to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove from the heat. Add your diced fruit and return to a simmer on a medium heat. Reduce to low and cook for three minutes or until the syrup assumes the colour of the fruit.

Strain the syrup and bottle, then store in the refrigerator.

Place the fruit in airtight containers and swirl through muffin batter to make delicious fruit muffins, or serve with softened ice cream. Refrigerate until ready to use.

9. Penny's Blog: Tough Love

December 20th

It definitely pays to live in the middle of nowhere! I can hardly believe it but I've made it to Christmas without experiencing an ounce of stress! No crowded shopping malls, no impulse buys, no standing fuming in queues or swearing under my breath at other fraught shoppers as we bash baskets and trolleys into each other. Almost every purchase has been carefully thought out from the comfort of my own home and personally delivered there too! Even the items I put on lay-by months before we moved were picked up without having to travel to the city. I just rang the stores, explained I had moved and asked if I could complete my order over the phone using my Visa Debit card. They happily agreed to post them out for a fraction of the price it would have taken for me to drive two hours to pick them up!

Speaking of which, I haven't put any petrol in my car for longer than I can remember! I'm not sure when I will get around to filling it up either, thanks to the fantastic birthday present I received from Noel and the boys. Check this out, is this the coolest bike in the world or what!

It's so sturdy I should never need to buy another one and will pay for itself in no time with the amount it will save me on petrol. I absolutely adore my bike! And, with its flowery design I don't have to worry about the boys pinching it either! So if you ever happen to be in Whangamata and see someone whizzing past, madly ringing her 'ding-dong' bell like an Avon lady, it will be me!

Obviously I can't reveal what Noel and the boys are getting for Christmas but one thing's for sure; they won't be sitting inside this summer. If Liam thinks he's getting a new swag of Playstation games he is sorely mistaken! We made an early start to No Screens Month by putting his Playstation away under lock and key. From now on he is only allowed to play it on rainy days when there is not much outside he can do. When we first moved here Noel and I were delighted to see that he was so busy having fun in the great outdoors that he didn't even turn his Playstation on for the first few weeks. However once the boys made new friends and they all started hanging out at our place, things changed. The Playstation would go on and they would waste away day after scorching hot day holed up in Liam's room trying to beat each other at being soldiers, zombies and goodness knows what else.

The thing I hate about Liam using his Playstation for long periods of time is that you can actually see the changes in him. He loses all motivation and you can actually see him withdraw into himself as he becomes lost in his own little world where nothing else matters except scoring a century or beating the bad guy. Conversation gets replaced by grunts and he just about needs a rocket under his backside to get him to actually do anything. The only way to get my big, beautiful boy back was to take the blasted thing off him.

When he first realised his beloved games were no longer accessible 24/7 he was far from impressed. He saw it as punishment - I saw it as helping him. 'I want a son, not a cabbage!' I pleaded. 'There's a big world out there - we live at the BEACH for goodness sake! Go and find something else to do!' And he did. And when his friends came round and discovered the Playstation was out of bounds, they all found something else to do too. The backyard cricket came back, the tent went up in the garden, they started going to the pool and the beach again and their laughter could be heard late into the night as they raced around the neighbourhood playing Spotlight, which is basically a game of hide and seek in the dark. The different was marked and no one was happier than Ali, who had also had enough of having a cabbage for a brother and a bunch of couch potatoes as friends.

Ali loathes video games. As far as he's concerned, they actually STOP people having fun when they could be doing much cooler stuff outside. Like catching fish on a hand line from the wharf or exploring the big hill at the end of the road. Or earning money. Back where we used to live, jobs for kids their age were hard to come by but when we moved here the boys saw that many of their friends had jobs. As soon as Ali spotted an ad for newspaper delivery contracts in his school newsletter, he picked up the phone. Five minutes later he proudly told me 'I've got a job! I have to deliver 135 newspapers twice a week'. Next thing we know Liam is also dialling the number and securing a job for himself too! The money isn't huge but as Ali says, at least they're not stuck inside. They get to ride their bikes around the neighbourhood and once all their papers are delivered, the rest of the day is theirs. The first day they got to grips with their delivery route, they were touched at the number of elderly people who came out to thank them and help them by telling them who lives where, which houses were empty and so on. 'It's fun!' said Liam. 'Yeah - better than playing Playstation', Ali said pointedly at his brother. 'And you don't get paid for doing that!'

I don't believe in forcing a kid to do anything they don't want to do but there is one thing that we have really pushed the boys to do and that is surf life saving. Not that Ali needed any pushing. From the outset he loved heading out to the waves on his kneeboard, getting bowled around in the surf on giant tubes and working as a team in the rescue boat. Liam however needed a LOT of pushing. Even bribing didn't work! The reason? None of his mates at school did it. They all preferred hanging around town or playing video games. He didn't want them to tease him for being the only one who did it. That, coupled with an acute case of shyness. I thought we were fighting a losing battle until we went to his school prize giving, where the speaker was an inspirational young woman who had spent the last six years working for Surf Rescue. She spoke of how she was the only one in her year who did surf lifesaving when she was at school but she didn't care because the moment she joined up, she became part of a family. She told the kids not to be sheep and follow the rest of the crowd but to do what they wanted to do. To take every opportunity that was offered to them. All the things Noel and I had been trying to tell Liam for weeks - honestly, she couldn't have said it any better if we had been paying her to say it! Although I think it helped immensely that the girl who was speaking now was absolutely gorgeous and not fuddy duddy old Mum and Dad!

So that weekend the boys went along for the first time and received a warm welcome. 'You can't be shy around here!' they told Liam with a grin. Ali loved it instantly and whilst Liam was more reserved to start with, he's learning it's much more important to be happy than be cool. The stunning girl who spoke at prize giving is now their instructor and from Boxing Day they will be spending every day of the summer holidays at the beach training to be lifeguards. They'll be getting fit, healthy and sea savvy and learning vital First Aid skills. What with that and their newspaper round, I reckon Liam will be so busy having fun, he won't even miss his boring old Playstation!

December 2010

10. Homeopathy Corner: A Day in the Life

Have you ever wondered what a homeopath actually does? Well wonder no more! This month, our favourite homeopath Fran Sheffield shares a typical day, helping to treat a wide range of cases from psoriasis to asthma and everything in between!

Read the full story here.

11. From Last Month: Singles Need Help Too!

Last month Anna asked:

"I am REALLY, REALLY struggling, especially after a prolonged illness. Currently I am regretting 'doing the right thing', such as having a mortgage, paying for health insurance and so on.

"Independent singles are such a marginalized group that nobody seems to care about. We are not eligible for any support, tax benefits and so on, and other saving techniques such as buying in bulk are not practical. Please, please, please help."

Thank you to everyone who responded with such fantastic tips and advice! Whilst unfortunately we are unable to print them all, hopefully terrific ones like these will help Anna and other singles to feel more positive and get back on track.

A winning formula for singles

As a single in a similar position there are a few things you can try first - look at all your providers from electricity, gas, insurance even bank rates and try phoning them and asking for a better rate because you are thinking of signing up with their competition - this worked for me with phone and electricity. The unhelpful car insurance salesperson said they couldn't do a better deal, so I found a better one myself with a quote on the Net. Just doing this can get you some extra dollars monthly. Do you really need all the Internet access you're paying for and are you over-using your mobile phone? Take a good look at things like these and try and make some adjustments.

You don't have to buy bulk food, just buy reduced wherever you see and bag and freeze them in individual portions. Speak to friends, colleagues and relatives and you may find they would like to share some items. Start growing your own vegies - just a few of the things you like. Experiment with low-cost foods like noodles and rice where you don't need huge amounts of proteins to go with it. Think about any money you spend on restaurant/cafe/takeaway/coffee or snacks and imagine how many groceries you could get for the same amount. Oh - and read everything you can find on Simple Savings and you'll come out the winner!

Contributed by: Lisa Giselle Pastars

Tips from a happy SS single

I'm single, have a mortgage and a car loan and occasionally think 'What am I doing!?' Meanwhile all my 'couple-y' friends aren't quite sure what I'm so worried about! Some simple things I have done to cope include:

Get a housemate! Not only does it take the weekly edge off your mortgage payment, but when those bills come around they can be halved - a whopping weight off your shoulders.
Learn to love your freezer! Get some cheap takeaway containers and each weekend make up a batch of something and freeze into single portions. You will soon enough have a stock pile of foods so you can alternate meals for weeks. Think of meals that can be extended with sides of rice or pasta such as chilli con carne with extra kidney beans and beef stroganoff with extra mushrooms.
Use eBay! Wait for the free listing weekends for smaller items and go for it. Be careful not to underestimate your postage costs though.
Adopt a firm 'I can do it myself' attitude around the house, you can save a fortune on tradesman.
Make a rule to never pay full price for any clothes or footwear. You'll save a fortune.
Avoid hairstyles/colours and so on that need to be tended to every 6-8 weeks. Instead, choose ones that can be managed for a few months.

Stick at it and good luck; be proud of yourself for having a go on your own!

Contributed by: Afton Gooda

Speed up your mortgage payments and enjoy the rewards

I am a single independent female living on my own. I had a fairly large mortgage, but have mananged to pay it off. I realised that paying it weekly rather than monthly would save me lots as regards interest. I just switched my payment regime with my lender and treated the lesser amount I was paying each week like it was rent. Now I have no more 'rent' to pay I am saving the amount I used to pay for something I really want in the future!

Contributed by: Sally H

Tweak savings tips to suit singles

Singles, whether independent or not, need a support network. Friends, family and social/other organisations are vital. Immerse yourself with likeminded people, even if they are not single. You can make lots of savings; you just have to think outside the box - lose the 'I have to do everything myself' mindset and let your community or circle of friends help you.

Instead of looking at what you are not eligible for or can't do - look for what you ARE eligible for and CAN do. Look at each area in your life and make changes - make up a list or a picture board, whatever appeals to you to help organise your thoughts.

If you look at your mortgage, what can you come up with that is acceptable to you paying it off and what do you want out of life? For example you could sub rent out a section, take on an overseas independent student, a boarder, a working backpacker - not only will they help pay your mortgage but you can gain so much more. Community groups are great sources of help and you may well be able to help them at the same time. A lot of saving tips/techniques can be tweaked to suit you - you just have to be creative.

Contributed by: Angela Caballero

Make buying in bulk work for singles

Even if you are single you can still make buying in bulk work for you. The best way could be to get together with some other single friends or family members and go on a 'buy in bulk' shopping spree once a month or fortnight. You could try local markets where you can pick up boxes of fruit and veg cheaply and share the cost and the goodies. It could be a great day out with your friends while saving all some money too!

Contributed by: Deborah Jamieson

Get cooking with other singles

When I was a single, I got together with the other three singles in my apartment block and we took turns cooking meals once a week. Most nights were eat and run, or we would take our meals to our units to eat alone if busy with work. We each had a night to cook, and if people could not make it, we made up a takeaway for them!

Contributed by: Mel Smith

Use your single status to your advantage

Use the advantages independent singles DO have, such as being able to share accommodation costs in a way that families cannot. I suggest systematically eliminating all debt until you can once again position yourself financially strong and make headway. Although it may seem good, a mortgage can impoverish you if you can no longer easily afford it (after all, mortgage does mean 'death grip' in French!). A book called 'Total Money Makeover' by Dave Ramsay gives a good blueprint on going from financial mess to 'financially sound'. I found it a great help.

Contributed by: Sue Rumsley

Make individual food portions last longer

If buying in bulk wastes a lot of food through spoilage, then investing in a food saver could be a good idea. It is like vacuum packing all your foods into single meals/serves. The lack of oxygen available in the sealed bags means there are heavily reduced oxidation processes which are what spoils the food. A bonus of doing this is when these items are frozen, freezer burn doesn't take hold, but it can even lengthen the fridge life of an avocado by at least five more days!

Contributed by: Rebecca Skelding

12. This Month's Help Request: Holiday Food for Hungry Teens

This month Jennifer asks:

"Help! School holidays are here and I'm already being eaten out of house and home by hordes of active teenage boys! They are all great kids who love hanging out at our place and I don't want to make them feel unwelcome but constantly feeding extras is really hurting my food budget. I don't feel as though I can feed my own children and not the others when they are around so I always end up giving in and making food for everybody. If I tell them to fend for themselves for lunch they simply go into town and waste their money on takeaways, my kids included! Does anyone have any suggestions for cheap fillers I can have on hand or whip up quickly so we can all save money?"

If anyone has any advice which could help Jennifer, please send them in to us here.

December 2013 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - December 2013

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Get Stuffed!
December: Old-fashioned Fun!
Ye Olde Shoppe: No More Tiger Stripes
Penny Wise: A Very Penny Christmas
Best of the Vault: The Lost Art of Having Fun
Best of the Forum: Simple Pleasures
Best Members' Blog: Upon Reflection
Cooking with Mimi: Luxury Gold Leafed and Embellished Coconut Ice
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Sweet Talking the Flowers!
From Last Month: Digital Dilemma!
This Month's Help Request: Christmas Sales Savvy

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for your kindness and wonderful support this year. To show our gratitude we got your calendar finished early :-) Click the image below to grab your copy.

I hope you really love this year's calendar and it inspires you to new heights. It is lots of fun working and saving together.

We received some wonderful emails this month. Here are our favourites:

"I received your latest newsletter and couldn't help but thank you for all the hints and tips. We are going overseas tomorrow, and after almost two years of saving here and there with the help of your wonderful website, we are flying to three Asian countries for five weeks! Here's a surprise - my husband Roger and I always save our loose change and the result is $2200.20! Roger and I save in our own little ways and still enjoy our life to the fullest! Simple Savings - the best website in the whole world. Thanks again Fiona and also to your wonderful staff." (Mell & Roger)

"Loved the last newsletter and wanted to congratulate Claire on saving long and hard for her kitchen - well done Claire, you're an inspiration." (Leonie)

"Christmas shopping DONE! I have given my friends and some younger relatives memberships as gifts this Christmas. I hope they get just as much out of this amazing website as I have." (Triscia)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Get Stuffed!

"That was wonderful, Edna, I'm absolutely stuffed!" smiled Sally, patting her stomach at the Christmas table. "You're welcome dear, so glad you're all better. Sounds like a nasty virus that got hold of you all!" Edna sympathised. "It looks like James has made a great recovery anyway, look at him out there playing cricket, he's having a blast! Isn't it funny how the kids have all deserted their flashy toys for a bat and ball? Some things never change."

"The food is amazing Edna. Tell me, where did you buy this Christmas pudding? I must grab one for us next year, it's delicious!" praised Cousin Ruth. "Buy, dear? Heavens no, I made it! Have done for years. It's my own great-grandmother's recipe." Edna said proudly. "Wow, that must be REALLY old - OUCH!" giggled James, running in for a glass of water and getting an elbow from Sally. "Dad - will you come and play cricket with us?"

"Sure mate, just coming! Thank you so much for having us all Edna. It's been a really enjoyable day." Pete pecked her on the cheek. "Nothing like a good old-fashioned Christmas!" Edna smiled, "Well it's been lovely to have you here. I'm just glad you were able to make it after all. When Sally rang and said you were all sick..." "Yes, well if Sally had had her way - OOMPH!" Pete spluttered as Sally shoved a huge spoonful of pudding into his mouth. "If I had my way, we'd come to you EVERY year Edna!" Sally beamed. "Pete just can't get enough of your Christmas pudding, can you darling!"

2. December: Old-fashioned Fun!

Pete is right, there really is nothing like a good old-fashioned Christmas! Carol singing, cricket in the yard, silly hats and the traditional Christmas pud. Back in Edna's day that's how all Christmases used to be. Fun and relaxation was high and pressure was low - but sadly those kinds of Christmases are no longer the norm. These days Christmas comes with a hefty price tag, and the fun many of us have had marketed to us is in the form of computers, video games, movie theatres and theme parks, not something as low-cost and simple as a bat and ball or a pack of cards.

Not in Simple Savings land, however! This month we're encouraging everyone to bring back the Christmases of old. Forget all the hype and pressure, the fancy marketing tricks and hard sell and just have a good time! What do you remember about the Christmases of your youth? Let's try and re-create them this year.

The best thing about old-fashioned fun is that it's usually free. Remember the things you used to do and the games you used to play? Enjoy them this Christmas with your loved ones and show them the best games don't have to come from a store! Here are some ideas to jog your memory:

Get the board games out and challenge everyone to a game of Life or Monopoly
Teach your kids how to play some of the card games you played as a kid
Play charades
Make play dough and use Christmas cookie cutters to make fun ornaments
Have a water fight
Go for a walk on the beach
Play games in the park
Invite the neighbours around
Get a long sheet of plastic and make a Slip and Slide
Decorate a tree outside for the animals and birds
Make paper chains
Make mince pies or shortbread from scratch
Play Christmas music and teach the kids how to sing your favourite Christmas songs
Go carol singing
Take the family to look at the Christmas lights in your neighbourhood.

Remember any of the above? What else have you forgotten about Christmas? Bring it back this year. Stop looking at the lists, and the area under the tree and thinking it is not enough. Give the gift of time and love instead and enjoy some old-fashioned fun!

3. Ye Olde Shoppe: No More Tiger Stripes

We'd like to share this email we received from one of our Forum members, Tradies Wife, who has a new little baby to love - congratulations!

"I'm experiencing a very long pregnancy at over 42 weeks. When I was pregnant with my other two babies, stretch marks were part of the pregnancy 'glow'. However, during this pregnancy I ditched the commercial body butters and pregnancy creams you can buy for stretch marks. I made my own creams to begin with, then got a bit lazy and decided to just use straight macadamia oil from the SS shop.

"The result, well, I have very, very few stretch marks. To the point that when I went in and saw the mid wife she asked me what on earth I use! I was a little surprised that I didn't have more too!

"Not only has the macadamia oil worked brilliantly, but it is very cheap to buy at around $21 a litre. That is plenty for a whole nine months + as well as having some left over for massages and other beauty treatments.

"And it's saved me from gaining pregnancy tiger stripes!"

You can read more about macadamia oil in Ye Olde Shoppe here

New product: Pressure Cooker Saved My Life

This book will make you and anyone who reads it feel good about themselves. When Fiona first read it she loved it so much she bought another three copies and gave them to her family and friends. It is a must read book, and now it's available in Ye Olde Shoppe!.

4. Penny Wise: A Very Penny Christmas!

The Christmas tree is up, the lights are sparkling, the wreath is on our front door - and that's all I've done so far. It's our first Christmas in our new little house and to be honest, I'm feeling completely overwhelmed. Unlike Sally in the newsletter stories, I don't have to worry about impressing anyone this year. My present shopping list has got a lot smaller and this year it's just going to be me, my boys, my mum and her partner. Technically it should be a really relaxed and low-key Christmas! But the pressure is still very much on. You see, it's my boys' first Christmas without their dad and I want to make it extra special for them. I know they're going to be sad, I know they're going to feel it but I'm going to do my darnedest to make it as happy as possible.

We all know Christmas isn't about the presents and I have no problem filling our home with masses of Christmas spirit - the same corny carol CD's will be playing the same as they have every year for longer than the kids can remember. Ali and I will make shortbread Christmas angels as always, the house will be full of the aroma of mulled wine simmering in the crock pot and there will be crackers and daft paper hats. But what is really worrying me IS the presents, or lack of them. We've always had a great big pile of enticing gifts under the tree and while the boys know money is tight, they still have wishes for Christmas just like every other child and right now, I have no idea how I'm going to afford ANY. Every spare dollar and beyond is allocated towards paying bills and I don't want to start the New Year off in overdraft or struggling with credit card debt. Still, I know there are many other families in the same position and far worse off and I am NOT going to let this beat me. I'm going to make sure my boys have a wonderful Christmas no matter what!

Tomorrow I am going to devote the whole day to selling my worldly goods on Trade Me, or on our local Facebook Buy Sell Swap page. I've actually had more success with Facebook as there are no fees and everything seems to get snapped up pronto, rather than having to wait for days for an auction to finish. No mucking about with postage either, as everyone just comes and picks up their bargains! Putting things on layby just isn't an option this year as I know I won't be able to pay them off in time for Christmas so I just hope my items sell. I think I also have a good amount of Flybuys points accumulated which could be a big help - unfortunately I'm still a joint card holder with the boys' dad though so I hope that he'll be willing to let me use some for their presents (and that he hasn't used them all up already!). I guess no matter what happens, as long as I'm being pro-active and doing all I can, I can't do any more than that. I did have one huge flash of inspiration for a wonderful present which I know the boys will love and help to keep the mood happy and light on Christmas Day! But, I can't tell you what it is yet!

I don't mean to sound all 'bah humbug' but I can't wait to get Christmas over with. Let's face it, when you're trying to save it's a bit of a flipping great inconvenience! Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to spending a relaxing day together and being on hand for the boys to do whatever they want; it's the one day when I do really get to relax in my own home and stop worrying about the huge pile of ironing or all the squillion other things that need doing - but all I really want to do is get ahead with my finances. Just keep plugging away at those lingering bills and get them paid off - at the moment it feels like I owe EVERYBODY money! I really don't like having that hanging over my head. But from next week there will be no lunchboxes to make and I can make the three of us yummy lunches from next to nothing. Both the boys are job hunting - Liam had one and was loving the independence of earning his own money but unfortunately he got laid off a few weeks in after they took on too many staff and didn't have enough work. Ali is hoping to work at the local supermarket - with a population that swells in our town from 4000 to 70,000 over summer the hours are intense but it's only for a few weeks and the money is well worth it.

I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be a good year for us - I do hope so! Both the boys have been through so much; they really deserve a good Christmas and an easier year ahead. But they have also learned an awful lot and I truly believe it has made them stronger, better people. They know what it is like now to truly exist on nothing (as do I!) and although there are times their situation makes them angry or depressed, they have learned through the friends they have made that there are many of their peers who have had to deal with much, much worse and it makes them humble. As for me, it's been a bumpy old time indeed! But every time I feel as though I've reached breaking point a little voice inside my head says 'No you bloody haven't!' and eventually I come out the other side with renewed determination. Right now I may be feeling a little overwhelmed about Christmas but I know we'll have a good day no matter what and apart from that I'm feeling stronger now than ever. I just can't wait for 2014 to hurry up and arrive so I can show my boys and myself what we can achieve. It's going to be the year of Penny, just you wait and see!

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

5. Best of the Vault: The Lost Art of Having Fun

Sometimes it seems as if we've forgotten how to have fun that doesn't involve a screen or earplugs! Christmas is the perfect time to turn the clock back and start having fun the old-fashioned way with some ideas from the Vault:

Monopoly with a local touch

Move over Mayfair! This version of Monopoly is much cheaper and puts the home into home-made!

When I was a kid we made a Monopoly game using local landmarks and streets. We got an old games board, although a square of cardboard would work just as well, and covered it with white paper. We marked it out just like a Monopoly board but we put our local streets, shops and services as the stops on the board. We made up our own chance cards and used small toys as counters. It was great fun to play our own Monopoly, especially if anyone from the neighbourhood came over to play.

Contributed by: Su M

Enjoy the sunset

Find all the best spots in your area to view beautiful sunsets. Pack a nice picnic supper, take along some favourite music and stop letting the sunsets pass you by. These lovely memorable times with loved ones are truly priceless.

Contributed by: Lexie Walker

Low-cost murder mystery parties

If you frequently entertain, enjoy a low-cost night with a difference by hosting a murder mystery party! A chance for you and your guests to be 'someone else for a night' and have some fun while taking part in some detective work. These are making a real comeback! I enjoy having friends over and have run a few murder parties but they can be costly to buy, even second hand. However, I stumbled upon a helpful website which has seven free games to download. It even gives hints as to how to write your own murder mystery game. Take you and your friends into the heart of a Ruth Rendell novel and fill your evening with role-play, scandals, accusations, greed, affairs and murder!

Contributed by: LJM

Bombs away

During warm weather, we make origami water bombs by folding the pages from newspapers we have read. For instructions, go to www.origami-instructions.com/origami-water-balloon.html

We spend the morning making them and then it's bombs away in the afternoon! We get a fun, if somewhat soggy, workout by throwing the bombs at each other. Once we've exhausted our energy and cooled off, we put the newspaper bombs straight into the compost ready to layer with the next lot of scraps. Green fun all round and it costs nothing to enjoy. Certainly cheaper than taking the family to the aquatic centre!

Contributed by: Louise Myers

6. Best of the Forum: Simple Pleasures

We Simple Savers already know that the simple things in life are often the best - and often free! Our Forum members have some wonderful ideas and inspiration to get more 'simple' back into your life this Christmas!

Elfing older people

Buttercup is on a mission to bring a little joy to those who might need it this Christmas - good on you Buttercup!
read more...

What I like about Christmas

Get your tissues ready - lovely Claire and friends talk about simple Christmas pleasures.
read more...

Being a Weasley at Christmas

Nik C. and her wisdom-wielding wizards give Christmas a 'Weasley workover'.
read more...

Stepping back and living a new life

Forum member RB shares the new direction her life is taking - watch out world!
read more...

7. Best Members' Blog: Upon Reflection

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a $100 store credit in Ye Olde Shoppe, or $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is Karebear who is literally changing her life and we can only applaud her courage and conviction!

"I have been pondering the great mystery of life over the last couple of months. A couple of extended family members have passed away, one from cancer and the other from old age. Only this week my teenage nephew was diagnosed with Leukaemia and is undergoing chemotherapy as I write.

"I have been working so gosh darn hard these last few months, and I guess I've had a little wake-up call. Yes, I want to be debt-free and financially independent, but I do want to have a little fun along the way. I know of people who have put everything off - family, travel, life experiences - until they 'retire' and then within weeks something terrible happens (accident or illness) and they don't get the chance to kick back and savour the fruits of their labours. Well, I realise I might come across as wishy washy, but I want the best of both worlds!

"So, with this in mind, I have made some rather firm guidelines to get rid of the credit card, keep saving for the future and get the mortgage paid off within five years. Firstly, and most importantly, I have set some time aside for me which means I will make sure I have at least two days off from work, every week! I'm feeling light-headed as I type this because over the last five to six years, for about eight months of each year, I have worked seven days a week. One stint was 51 days of non-stop work. Next year I plan on taking some long service leave so I can build up the business I have started and then maybe, just maybe, I can reduce the hours of my full time job even more!

"I do have two major goals I want to achieve as well:

"Major Goal 1 - I really want to go to Europe! Once my new holiday account balance hits $5,000, I'm booking my flights and I'm off!

"Major Goal 2 - A little camper trailer! Australia is a wonderful country and I would like to see a lot more of it!

"On a personal level, my health is suffering because of the crazy hours that I work but I'm finding out about Tai Chi classes and going to continue cycling. With the days off, I can make up a few bulk meals to freeze to make life easier and I plan on doing a major spring clean on my house, a bit here and there.

"My finances will be healthy, I will be healthy and my house will be neat - bring it on!"

Well done Karebear - we look forward to following the rest of your adventures!

8. Cooking with Mimi: Luxury Gold Leafed

and Embellished Coconut Ice

Here's my Coco Chanel inspired luxury coconut ice, which I am gifting for Christmas this year. Who says coconut ice has to be pink!

It's a fairly standard coconut ice recipe that I've had for decades, and if you have your own version then, by all means use that instead. It's the decorating that makes this one special. It's also important to cut the coconut ice into slabs rather than the traditional squares just to make it look a bit more grown up.

Each slab costs around $3.00-$8.00 depending upon how much gold leaf and how many roses you use to decorate it.

You'll need:
(This will yield about six slabs, as pictured)

125g Copha (1/2 a block)
1 x 500g packet icing sugar, sifted
1 x 250g packet dessicated coconut
2 egg whites, whisked in a cup with a fork until they're foaming around the edges. This takes no more than a minute.
2 tsp black gel food colouring (available at cake decorating suppliers for $6.00-$7.00)
1 sheet edible gold leaf (also available at cake decorators for about $7.00 a sheet)
One large soft artists brush or a pastry brush
Small fondant roses, either made by hand if you're a bit clever, or purchased at the supermarket in the baking aisle or at cake decorators.
Greaseproof paper to wrap or you can use baking paper
Wide craft ribbon or satin or organza ribbon to tie around it
1 cake tin or slice tin 20cm x 20cm, lined with baking paper, with some overhanging the edges of the tin so you can lift the coconut ice out easily

To make:

Melt the Copha in a small microwave bowl on 'high' until just barely melted and allow to cool slightly.

Put the sifted icing sugar and coconut in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the cooled melted Copha and the whisked egg white and combine well.

Press half of this mixture into a thin layer on the base of your lined tin. Clean, wet hands will help smooth the surface and a fondant smoother is great if you have one, just to really press it flat and into the corners.

Now add the black food colouring to the other half of the coconut ice left in the bowl. Make sure you mix it really well, stretching it out with the back of a spoon and stirring it back in, a bit like kneading with a spoon, to be certain there are no white flecks left.

Smooth this over the white layer with clean hands and the back of a spoon to even it out.

Chill for an hour, then loosen the coconut ice with a thin knife around the unlined edges, and carefully lift it out. Cut into six even slabs.

Tear off an 8cm wide strip of greaseproof or baking paper and fold it in three, finishing the seam underneath. Trim it to fit around your slab. Cut a length of ribbon about 15-30cm long and have it ready. Set aside.

Take one sheet of edible gold leaf and place it face down on the black upper side of your coconut ice. Using the brush, rub in circles on the back of the sheet of paper attached to the gold leaf to encourage the gold leaf to adhere to the surface of the coconut ice. Continue to do this, using up as much of the gold leaf on the sheet as you can, until you're happy with the amount on the top of your coconut ice.

Add the roses in one corner. If you've bought them from the cake decorator, they'll be on a stem which you can simply cut to length and stab into the top of the coconut ice. If they're home-made or from the supermarket, you'll need to adhere them with a bit of icing.

Wrap the folded length of greaseproof paper around one end of the bar of coconut ice and tie it in place with the length of ribbon.

You can now lay it on platters for the table or wrap it in lace, cellophane or a box for gifting.

Very pretty and even blokes love it!

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Sweet Talking the Flowers!

Copious Curcurbits

Of all the plants we have grown this spring, we are most pleased with our melons, spaghetti squash, zucchini and pumpkin vines. :)» The pumpkin vine has proven to be quite a handful with its never-ending quest to conquer the front yard and we now think the spaghetti squash is trying to make a break for it through the corn into the asparagus bed. I think it might be time to make a counter-attack with the garden shears but shall see how far they advance before I make a tactical move.

Even though the plants themselves are going gangbusters at the moment they still don't always set the amount of fruit we would like. Un-pollinated/lost fruit is one problem we come up against even when the plants are well fed and watered.

This family of plants have what is known as imperfect, or incomplete flowers, meaning the male and female reproductive organs are on separate flowers. Perfect/complete flowers have both male and female organs in the one flower (tomatoes, eggplants, chillies, etc.). Imperfect flowers rely on bees and other pollinators to transfer the pollen from the male flower to the female.

Unfortunately, the bees do not always perform their duty so we end up with a fair amount of failed fruit. One way you can remedy this is to take matters into your own hands, put on the bee suit (optional) and do the job yourself. The flowers are only receptive to pollination for a short amount of time so it is best to get out there and pollinate them before 9am if you want the best shot at getting fruit to set.

First you need to select a freshly open male flower that has loads of pollen on the tip of the stamen (anther). Carefully remove the petals from the outside of the flower until the stamen is fully exposed.

Then all you need to do is dab the pollen onto the tip of the stigma of the female flower and the job is done. You can normally tell within 36 hours if the pollination has been successful as the fruit will start to grow. With zucchini in particular I have found that some days there will be no male flowers on the plant, but that is really no problem as the female fruit is perfectly edible at that size. There just won't be a lot to go around the dinner table.

Another way this can be achieved is to use a small soft bristled paint brush to collect the pollen from the male flower and deposit onto the stigma of the female flower. I have seen this method recommended when you may have a few female flowers to pollinate but only a single male. If you are growing more than one variety of pumpkin/squash and are still interested in saving some seeds, it is possible to tie off the female flower to ensure that the seeds will grow true to type plants.

Get out into the patch as early as you can, pollinate the flowers then tie off the petals around the female flower to stop any pollen from other varieties getting in there. Alternatively, if you felt like donning the mad scientist lab coat, you could try to develop your own hybrid varieties using the same technique. ;)

I would like to thank Sarah on the Share the Seed group for inspiring this post and all that contributed. I hope some of the pumpkins stick for you all. ;)

Rob : )»

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

10. From Last Month: Digital Dilemma!

Last month Megan emailed us asking for help in organising her digital photos before she loses them forever:

"I really need some ideas on how to organise my digital photos! I have hundreds and hundreds on my camera, on my laptop and on my phone and I am very concerned about losing them. How do other people organise their digital photo collection? I really feel overwhelmed."

We got some fantastic ideas for Megan - you're going to be a busy lady! Here are some of our favourite replies:

Update photos regularly for quick sorting

I organise my digital photos on my laptop in folders by year and then month. If sent/given photos from friends these are saved in a separate folder marked accordingly.

I regularly download from my camera/iPad/phone to my laptop. When done frequently it is hardly a chore. This main photo file is then copied onto an external hard drive (back-up) for safety, as computers are notorious for crashing and losing/deleting data!

If you have hundreds and hundreds of photos this will be a lengthy project to undertake. However, if you commit to start now and move forward saving all future photos using tips such as this, but also incorporate a small amount of backlog with each download session, you will be organised in no time at all.

Contributed by: Amanda Walker

Create a personal cloud!

To solve my digital dilemma and keep all my precious files safe, I bought a network-ready external hard drive which I have connected to the router. Mine is a Western Digital (WD) brand. I then transferred all my pictures, music and videos to the hard disk. It took a little time and patience transferring everything over but I can now access my photos, music, videos and documents from anywhere in the world provided the router and disk is ON 24/7. You can access the files using Wi-Fi or your phone network. It is basically your personal cloud! Likewise, that disk will also work as a media server. As long as they are on the same network you can play songs and videos and watch your pictures from your computer, phone, tablet and even your PS3 and Xbox!

Contributed by: Sharav Shrestha

Storing photos old and new

We run a small computer group of retirees and their suggestions on managing photos came up at one of our meetings: There is a free software program called 'Picasa' which can be downloaded from the Internet and allows you to edit and modify your photos, and manage them into slide shows. Adobe Photoshop also does the same function.

We recommend the following:

First of all, get rid of all second rate, duplicated, unwanted and poor quality photos.
Sort what you have left into date order (you can make this easier by roughly classifying them into different years).
This relates to photos in digital format - change the name of each photo to one which reflects both date and brief description of content or place. Note the date should be in reverse order - looks like this '2013/08/15' or '2013' if you don't know the exact date, followed by a short description 'Tony's 21st birthday', then save to a computer file. Open separate folders in your computer for particular activities where you have a lot of photos. Continue this way with all your photos, then do a sort and save them to a USB memory stick, DVD or CD.
From experience, DVDs and CDs don't always maintain the quality of the picture and they have limited storage capacity. Whatever method you use, make sure that your storage device has a label specifying the contents.
You may end up with multiple storage devices with your photos on them; file these in a suitable container in date order.
It's always a good idea to have more than one digital record of the same photos, stored in a different place so that you don't lose your photos. You can also take advantage of websites on the Internet which will store your stuff for you, so that your computer memory is not filled up.
When it comes to old photos in hard copy version, write the date and description in pencil on the back and place them in envelopes for each year, facing the same way so that they don't stick together, using tissue paper if they are really precious. For these you will need a storage box, and these are widely available in most $2 shops.
At a later date, when you have time on your hands, it might be a good idea to scan all the older photographs and store them along with your other more recent digital photos.

Contributed by: Norma King

Round up all the gadgets once a month

As a scrapbooker and avid photographer of four active children (and a puppy), keeping track of my digital pics is essential. As soon I'm done for the day I transfer all from my camera or phone onto my computer. I have folders under 'My Pictures' for each year with subfolders for each month. I go through each pic and cull blurry or 'too hard to Photoshop' photos (I'm lazy!), then rename each photo using my trusty ACDSee program which batch renames using the format of year, month, day and brief event description. ACDSee numbers each picture sequentially so I only have to type the info and click the process button.

Once a month I round up all the kids' electronic equipment and transfer all their pics to my computer as well, sort by date, then rename and move into relevant month folder. I back everything up to an external hard drive once a week (sometimes more often as it can take a while - I set it for overnight so is not cutting into day computer use).

Every year for Christmas I burn DVD copies of the year's photos for the grandparents and send with a monthly collage/description 6x6 scrapbook which I *try* to do over the course of the year.

That way - heaven forbid - I know I have back-up copies of all my photos with the grandparents and as technology changes I will update to suit.

Contributed by: Mum2Five

Organise your pics and save with Snapfish

For those struggling with a mass of digital photos, I use Snapfish to organise all mine - www.snapfish.com. You can upload them from your computer or your mobile phone (just get a free app for either an iPhone or an Android). I regularly upload the photos straight from my phone and my husband's. You can also upload them from your camera by plugging it into your computer. It's easy to create folders as you upload and add to them. From there, you can do all sorts of things with your photos - order prints or gifts, share the albums with your friends and relatives, or - and this is my favourite - you can make photo books. This is the BEST way to use digital photos. It's like scrapbooking but cheaper and neater. You could spend hours and hours putting books together if you are interested, but it is also simple to do very quick albums using their auto fill feature.

NEVER pay full price for any products on Snapfish - they are constantly doing discounts on one thing or another. You just need to keep checking to see if they are doing a discount on what you want. For example, just before Mother's Day they did a two-for-one deal on photo books, so for Mother's Day both grandmothers got a beautiful photo album of their newborn granddaughter, and they absolutely loved it. I have also done small softcover photo books for under $10 to send to overseas relatives and I have made elaborate 'yearbooks' with stories and captions and bright colours, which I then save until a big discount allows me to buy it cheaply!

Contributed by: Rebecca C

A USB works for me!

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to store and protect digital photos is to store them on a USB flash drive. My daughter keeps hers with her most of the time so that she can print one or two out cheaply when she does her shopping at places like Kmart. If you can get the storage devices on sale, you could probably use a few of them, for example, different ones for different topics, 'Family', 'Friends', 'Pets' and so on!

Contributed by: Gusta T

11. This Month's Help Request: Christmas Sales Savvy

Sophie has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I have gone to a few Christmas sales in the past but stopped going as there seemed to be more hype than bargains. How do you get good deals at the Christmas sales?"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Sophie, please send them in to us here.

12. Goodbye for Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for December 2013 and we hope you have enjoyed it. We hope we've inspired you to enjoy some good old-fashioned fun - let us know how you go!

From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful Christmas, and we can't wait to share an exciting 2014 with you!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

December 2015 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - December 2015

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Troll Blood!
December: Make it Fun, Make it Funny!
Best of the Vault: Festive Feasting!
Best of the Forum: Countdown to Christmas
Best Members' Blog: Zero Dollar Christmas
Cooking with Mimi: An Extravagantly Decorated Table Saves on Food That Goes to Waste
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: A New Pond for the Patch and a Fishy Update

Hello,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I hope you have a lovely break. We have made you a Christmas gift (2016 calendar) and we will be sending it to you in a few days. In the meantime, we have some great last minute gifts that only cost pennies but look fantastic!

Thank you for supporting us for another year. And, thank you for kind emails. They inspire us to work harder. Here are our favourite emails this month:

"Thank you for everything Fiona and Matt - I have had great pleasure in buying memberships for my adult children for Christmas this year." (Tanya)

"Still loving my $21 Challenge - thank you! You have saved me hundreds of dollars every few months." (Mariah)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. The calendar is almost ready and we will be sending it to you in a few days.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Troll Blood!

Sal looked at the list she had made and sighed. "I have 21 gifts left to buy and only have $120 to spend. That's less than $6 each. What on earth can I buy for $6 that says 'Hey, Merry Christmas! You're special!'?"

Hanna smiled at her friend across the desk and started to speak but Sally cut her off. "No Hanna, I know you're going to say I can make something. I did that last year remember and it ended up costing a fortune, way more than if I bought them something in the first place. No, I've got to think of something I can buy, and quickly."

Hanna tried again, "Sal, I was going to say I have the perfect idea. It IS home-made but it's quick and easy and cheap to make. The best thing is you can personalise it for each person which makes it extra special." Sal perked up. "Hanna, that sounds wonderful. What is it?" Hanna smiled, "It's 'Troll Blood'!"

2. December: Make it Fun, Make it Funny

'Troll Blood'? What on earth is 'Troll Blood' you may ask? Did we really capture a few internet trolls and turn them into chocolate sauce as the label says?

The answer is, "YES! Yes we did! And it was lots of fun!!"

OK, the real answer is no. Troll Blood is made from cocoa, water, sugar, vanilla and salt and it is part of my long-running quest for the perfect gift. For years I have watched to see which gifts people enjoy the most. These gifts are the ones that appeal to the heart, the mind and/or the senses. They are often:-

gifts that are hand-made
gifts that make them laugh or smile
gifts that taste good.

If you can find a gift that does all three things, then you have a hit! So I've combined all three to make the ultimate frugal gift to use for Christmas and birthday gifts. It is a killer chocolate sauce recipe, stored in easy to buy jars with a great selection of labels to match your friends' tastes.

We have had a ball making the labels and we uploaded them so you can do it too.

First I'll show you all the labels up close and then the all-important recipe.

We have 'Troll blood' for your friends who find internet trolls really frustrating.

For teachers and coaches with a wicked sense of humour, we have 'Essence of Revenge'!

For the friend who likes things simple, we have some basic Christmas labels.

For friends who like coffee, we have altered the recipe (see below), offering to blow their heads off!

Or, help them concentrate :-)

For your friends who love chocolate. We have..

Here is the recipe (and all important labels) to make two delicious jars of 'Troll Blood' (or whatever else you'd like to call it!) to give to loved ones and others who share your dislike for trolls!

Troll Blood

Makes 2 x 1 litre jars

Shopping list:

2 x 1 litre jars ($6)
1 box (380g) cocoa ($4)
2kg sugar ($2)
Vanilla essence
Salt

Labels:

Print out chosen labels

Glue stick

Scissors

Ingredients

2kg sugar
Box of cocoa (380g)
1 litre water (or coffee)
1 tsp salt
1 tbs vanilla essence

Put sugar and cocoa in a really big stock pot. Stir together to remove all the lumps from the cocoa. Add liquid (water or coffee) and salt. Turn stove to high and stir continually. When it is boiling, turn heat to medium. Keep stirring and watching. If it gets too hot it will bubble over. Let syrup simmer until it thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla essence.

Pour into two jars. When cooled add your labels.

And now you have two awe-inspiring, home-made gifts for a tiny $6 each! It is the ultimate frugal gift.

Download the labels here.

Merry Christmas!!

Fiona

3. Best of the Vault: Festive Feasting!

Say 'Merry Christmas' with love by cooking your own festive fare this year. With a bit of thought and organisation, you can create a delicious and inexpensive Christmas for your loved ones to remember. Here are some great ideas from the Vault:

Boozy strawberry syrup

This delicious strawberry syrup makes an ideal festive gift for sipping and slurping! It's so easy and only takes a week until it's ready. All you need are strawberries, sugar, vodka and a clean jar.

Put fresh strawberries into an elegant jar or bottle.
Drizzle with white sugar until the jar is filled.
Fill with vodka.
Turn daily for a week to dissolve the sugar.
Decorate the jar with ribbon and/or a festive tag.
Use as a drink with lemonade or over crepes, ice cream or strawberries. Yum!

Contributed by: Kathy L

Frozen Christmas Bombe

This Christmas recipe serves 6-8 people.

1 cup mixed dried fruit
1/2 cup sliced glace cherries
2 tablespoons brandy
1 x 359g can sweetened condensed milk
2 x 300ml cartons thickened cream
1/2 cup dark choc bits
1/2 cup white choc bits
1/2 cup flaked almonds, toasted

Combine dried fruit, cherries and brandy in a bowl. Cover and stand for 30 minutes.
Line a 1.5 litre (six cup capacity) pudding basin with plastic wrap, freeze whilst preparing ice-cream.
Beat sweetened condensed milk and cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick. Fold through the fruit mixture, dark and white choc bits and almonds.
Pour the mixture into a prepared basin. Freeze for several hours, or overnight.
Before serving, turn out pudding onto a plate; then smooth the surface with a wet knife.
Decorate with fresh fruit/berries, and bottled sauce of your choice.

Contributed by: Vivien Wakefield

Minimal Cost Christmas

Christmas can be an expensive time of year but I have learned to make savings. I buy turkey and chicken pieces instead of a whole bird. This way saves time in cooking and preparing and if you want stuffing to go with it, make it up in muffin tins.

I make my own cake instead of buying one. I soak the fruit and nuts in black tea for 24 hours and make it up as usual. I don't make a cake with more than 2 eggs in, I find it unnecessary. I pour a tablespoon of brandy or whiskey over the cake daily for 2 weeks to keep it fresh; the taste does disappear after a few days of not doing it.

Mince tarts can be made with 500g of mixed dried fruit minced up fine in a blender to go further. I make sweet shortcrust pastry and put in about 2 teaspoons for each portion, then bake for 20 mins or until golden brown.

Using these methods, I have worked out that our Christmas dinner will cost under $20 to serve ten people. We make our own beer so for $11 we have 72 bottles of beer. I buy the beer kits when they are on special. I make my own hats, sweets and table settings. The library has lots of books on the subject, most items needed can be found in op shops for a minimal cost.

Contributed by: Kaye King

4. Best of the Forum: Countdown to Christmas

Christmas doesn't have to be a last-minute spending rush. Here are some great ideas to help you plan a wonderful Christmas without breaking the budget!

Secret Santa - how do you do it in your family

Secret Santa is a great way to do family gift-giving, have fun and save money all at the same time!
read more...

Mimi's under-$5-looks-like-more DIY Xmas gifts

Mimi shares her beautiful gift-giving ideas in this thread - they are so pretty you'll be making one extra to keep for yourself!
read more...

Hosting Christmas

There are some great ideas for surviving being the host this Christmas!
read more...

5. Best Members' Blog: Zero Dollar Christmas

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is Sandy for her blog about NOT spending on Christmas presents!

"I can't believe how fast the year is going, and how close Christmas is! We recently started a new business and while it is doing well, we are barely, if at all, actually covering our personal expenses, so I have started dreaming up Christmas and how I can make it work. My husband thinks I'll have to spend some money and I probably will but I am determined to keep it very close to nothing! I have been looking around and thinking what resources I have that I can use to make into gifts - not just something nice but also something that people will appreciate and use.

So far I have come up with the following:

a ginger plant (already sprouting)
home-made bags that can be used at the market, both light-weight net ones for individual vegies and larger ones for whole bunches
a peg apron
lemongrass plants
reusable fabric covers (instead of cling wrap)
Freecycle begging (hopefully I can get some bath toys for bubby)
home-made gift vouchers

The resources I am planning on using are the big stack of fabric I have, some large onion bags and some 20kg rice bags (some of which I am using to grow potatoes but I have plenty).

Although in some ways it is a bit of a struggle and we're feeling the pinch, for me it is a challenge to rise to. Unfortunately it is harder for my husband who doesn't have a lot of time, loves to give gifts and loves the luxuries of life. I am so proud of the way that he is coping with the tight finances though."

Well done Sandy - you are an inspiration - thank you for sharing!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

6. Cooking with Mimi: An Extravagantly Decorated Table Saves on Food That Goes to Waste

This year, I'm focusing on setting a truly beautiful Christmas table, and serving simple food. I get that we don't feel right if the table isn't groaning with stuff on Christmas Day, but it's a special sort of crazy really, isn't it? We waste so much and I'd rather donate a little more to charity now that we have a family of adults. So, we're making it a feast for the eyes and soul, not just the stomach.

Our menu this year is a simple leg ham, two lovely salads, fresh stone fruit and nuts in the shell, and a dessert yet to be decided. That's it. But I wanted our Christmas table to be truly beautiful with a tartan theme, which I should probably explain!

I got this tartan at Spotlight for $2 a metre.

I already had the striped 'ticking' style fabric, the vintage blue and white toile, and the chambray remnant. They go together in that totally over-the-top mixed pattern style that I would never do for every day, but which I kinda like for Christmas :)

We have off-white china, silver candelabra and a small collection of blue and white ginger jars. I need more of those actually so I feel an op shop trawl coming on! I've been lucky to pick the ones I have up for $2 or thereabouts. New, they're actually really expensive!

Here's a first run....

That's all from things I already have. The beautiful roses were a gift from a friend. Aren't they a gorgeous colour? I had to giggle to myself when I did this though, because my eye simply won't allow too much busy-ness and I chose to include the rose, as well as my pink wine glasses, because of that touch of pink on the ginger jar. This is a more understated version, isn't it. I'll have to take my 'understated-ness' off, I think!

I think I'll fill the ginger jars with chocolate éclair lollies or something and just stress that the sweets are for eating and the jars for returning ;-) I'll do a long low floral centrepiece using some silverware I've collected over the years, and some similar coloured roses either from the garden or from the florist wholesaler a day or two before. You'd be amazed what you can create with a fruit bowl, some $2 florist foam, a bunch of inexpensive flowers and some greenery from the garden!

So in between all that prettiness will sit a couple of platters of cold food, beautifully presented and won't we all feel special. There's more to a celebration meal than indulging the stomach. What about indulging the eye as well.

Merry Christmas :)

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page or in our Members' Blog section.

7. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: A New Pond for the Patch and a Fishy Update

The patch is flying along and I thought I'd include a few update shots of the taro, corn and Queensland Arrowroot that I post about on my last blog. As you can see from the picture above, the taro has taken right off in the wicking barrels. I was concerned that they might not like the full sun they're getting in this position but so far they look like it's not bothering them at all. I think it helps that these barrels are automatically topped up with water so the soil is always moist.

The mixed glass bead and gem corn plants have also put on a lot of growth over the past four weeks. We had a rather ferocious storm on Sunday and I was concerned they may blow over like a friend's did in West Ipswich, but I think the front fence took a lot of sting out of the wind. I think I will have to set up some sort of twine around them like I have with previous crops as they won't be so protected once they reach 2m / 6½' tall.

The Queensland arrowroot has totally blown me away. I know our compost was good but didn't think it was this nutritious ;-)

There is also a red Amaranth (grown for its seed by South Americans) flourishing in there that is the most vigorous looking amaranth we've grown to date. Not only is it the tallest amaranth we've grown (we can see it from the house over the shade house) but the base of the stem is massive. I've decided to leave this plant just to see what comes of it. Will definitely end up with enough seed to add into my date and nut cocoa balls methinks ;-)

A few other plants have done surprisingly well for us so far include this pumpkin, grown from some seeds shared with me by Ruben, an online friend I met through the Share the Seed Facebook group. It's growing up a small trellis and so far looks to be a great producer with five fruits already forming.

They're a smaller fruiting pumpkin that is a hybrid variety (so no seed saving unfortunately) that has proven to be fairly mildew resistant up until this week. I have noticed a few patches of mildew forming so will be removing the worst affected leaves and will use a fungicide spray on the other leaves to try and knock the infection off. Reuben was also kind enough to share some cucumber seeds with me as well. They were sown directly into the Root pouch wicking garden at the back stairs in August. Three months later and the little garden is looking just a tad overgrown ;-) So far we've picked about a dozen nice sized cucumbers from this patch which we've been enjoying immensely. I think Maya wants two of these left aside so she can make sliced cucumber pickles but she'll have to be quick, as we're eating one of these a day at the moment ;-) A few of the chillies have been picked with loads of mint and a few sweet potato leaves going into meals as well.

A New Pond for the Patch

Just over a month ago we set up a pond in the patch under the Tahitian lime tree so we could grow a few edible water plants. We are also hoping it will provide a spot for frogs to spawn in and to provide water for beneficial insects.

The pond is made from a 500L grow bed** we purchased with the aquaponic system a while back but we can't fit into the system the way it's laid out at the moment. Setting it up was as easy as levelling the ground and installing an overflow port that would run excess water off to irrigate the lime tree in times of heavy downpours. For the time being it's just sitting on the ground but its position may change in the future. Ideally some of the base should be dug into the ground to help keep the water cool during our scorching summer heat.

I decided to try using Root Pouches to grow the plants and filled them with a potting mix and compost blend. We sat these on top of some milk crates and an upside down plant pot. Two of the pouches were planted out with water chestnuts and the third with arrowhead/duck potatoes. The water chestnuts we've grown a few times now but the arrowhead is a new one for us. I've been told that they have a nutty flavour so it will be interesting to see how they go once they're harvested.

One thing we keep in mind when setting up ponds in the yard is to keep the mosquitoes from breeding in them. To make sure that we didn't have an explosion of wrigglers, we added some native fire tailed gudgeons.

They will quite happily polish off any mozzie wrigglers but won't eat any eggs or tadpoles. A water pump was also added to keep the water moving and well oxygenated for the gudgeons. I'm looking at replacing the 240V pump with a small solar pump but just haven't found one I'm happy with yet. On top of the water I added some small floating plants called azolla and duck weed (Thanks Adie & Tina). These two tiny plants are very nutritious and can be fed to the fish in the aquaponics, to chooks or compost worms if we want. I've also seen a few folks that eat both plants but I think I'll pass for now. ;-)

On the west facing side of the pond a small garden bed was made to help provide shade from the hot afternoon sun. It was planted out with some Queensland arrowroot to not only shade the side the pond but to also serve as a ladder for frogs that may want to use it to spawn in. So far I'm really pleased with how it's going and can't wait to see some tadpoles swimming in there.

** A stock tank would work just as well if you're after an above ground pond. They can be purchased from rural supply stores and also recycling businesses like Tilkey here in South East Queensland.

Aquaculture Update

A few weeks back we harvested the fish in the fish farm and pulled it down. It was always meant to be a bit of an experiment just to see if I could run a straight aquaculture system in the backyard and I found that it helped me learn a few things I hadn't yet come across running the aquaponic system. I am glad that it's all pulled down now as it was a shame to see all the nutrients go to waste instead of growing produce for ourselves. These were the last of the Jade perch from the fish farm. There was a 9th fish but I was in a hurry and had already dressed it before realising I hadn't taken a picture. The smallest weighed 450g/1lb and the largest 700g/1.5lb which I was very pleased with. They had been in the fish farm for about 18 months and were supposed to come out in 12 months at an average weight of 500g, but due to a few hiccups along the way their feed rations were cut a few times meaning they didn't grow as fast as I would have liked them to.

The tanks and barrels from the system will be heading over to my parent's place where it will be recycled into an aquaponic system for them to grow some silver perch in.

Aquaponic System

The aquaponics has been pumping out the produce of late, with around 80% of the greens we've been eating coming from the system. We are having a few issues with a caterpillar on the Okinawan spinach at the moment. These caterpillars have been devastating the plants in the aquaponics so I think it might be time to give the plants a haircut and spray with some Dipel to knock the infestation on the head.

The fish are feeding really well now that the weather has warmed up. The Jade perch are all ready to come out as we feel like a fish meal. A few of the silver perch are around the 500g/1lb mark now and ready to come out but the trick will be to pull them out rather than the smaller fish. The rest will be left in for a while longer until they grow out to harvest size.

There are some big changes coming for the aquaponics now that the fish farm has been pulled down. We are hoping to fit in around 3m²/32feet² of new grow beds were the fish farm once stood, with at least one large bed being a floating raft bed for greens-only production.

So there's a bit of a look at how things are going in the patch at the moment. I hope everyone's gardens are pumping out the produce now we're into summer.

Have a great one all.
Rob

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page or in our Members' Blog section.

8. Goodybe For Now

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for December 2015 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to check the Forum and Facebook for challenges and inspiration to help you with some great lunchbox ideas and don't forget to let us know!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

December 2018 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - December 2018

Making Christmas Gifts
The Ultimate Gift Planner
NEW Competition: Inspiring Others
WINNERS: Proudest Simple Savings Moment
Forum: We Have a New Search Engine!
Two-hour Decluttering: Precious Memories

Hello,

How are you doing? I hope you are having an enjoyable festive season.

First up; the legendary Simple Savings Calendar is ready. How low can you go in 2019?

Get yours here.

We have made many changes to the site this year and hope to make many more.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas,

Fiona

P.S. If you're stuck for a gift idea for someone you care about, how about gifting them a Vault membership? It costs just $21 and will help someone else to save money all year round. Who knows, it may even change their life!

1. Making Christmas Gifts

This year all my Christmas shopping was complete by December 1st. The tree is up, presents are wrapped... and I am a big fat liar! The truth is, I have planned out everyone's gifts, but we are still busy making them. Making Christmas gifts is one of my favourite things to do. We make all sorts of gifts, Word Art, customised bags, Christmas trees, favourite songs, t-shirts, biscuits, jars of troll blood, even 'poo' - yes, you read right!

Here some of the gifts we have made this year, as well as instructions on how you can make them too:

Say it with Word Art

How about this for a heartwarming gift for a favourite teacher? Miss Elora made these two pieces by asking her classmates what they think of their teachers and then typing their responses into WordArt.com.

All you have to do is type in your words, choose your design and play with it till it is perfect. Guaranteed to make your recipient's day!

Customised Bags

Shopping bags are a very practical gift. Since the Compulsory Bag Ban I've tested nine different types of re-usable bags in order to find the best one for the job. I wanted a bag which is strong enough to carry my shopping, small enough to fit in my pocket and live in my handbag, large enough to fit my shopping in, looks good and is well priced. The best bags I found were at Woolworths and cost 99c. They meet all my requirements and are also really easy to decorate and transform into a unique and personalised gift.

Here are some of the bags the kids and I have decorated for our friends, family and each other. At the bottom, I'll show you how we did it.

Elora (aged 9) did this one for her teacher.

I made this one for my stylish friend. I kept it simple, so it would match her capsule wardrobe.

This one I was testing simple patterns:

and this one is our Christmas card design:

Creating your own is simple. Simply grab some 99c bags from the Woolworths checkout and some oil based paint markers, available from Office Works. You may have noticed me use these in previous newsletters.

Before you start decorating the bags, place some paper inside the bag to catch the paint which may seep through the fabric. Then draw away to your heart's content!

Next, cut the supermarket logo off the tag. Do not cut the tag off! The tag helps you find the piece of elastic, which holds the bag together.

The tag folds over so you can slide your scissors into the middle of the tag, cut it in half and then remove the half with the logo.

Then you can simply colour the remaining tag.

Christmas Trees

Miss Jacqueline has been busy making Christmas trees with her 3D pen.

If you would like to see how she makes them, here is a link to her YouTube video:

Music Gifts

Many years ago I gave my sister a mix tape of all her favourite songs. She absolutely loved it.

She got hours and hours of joy from that mix tape and said it was the best present anyone had ever made for her.*

While no one does mix tapes any more, what you can do is make a loved one a list of special songs just for them, using Spotify. Songs you think they will love, songs that remind you of fun things you did together, songs you loved when you were a teen or songs to inspire.

Earlier this month I asked our Forum members to help me put together a list of their favourite frugal songs, which I have put into a Spotify play list for you:

This list of favourite frugal songs features:

Coat of Many Colours - Dolly Parton
Every Little Thing - Peter Doran
Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 3) - The Whitlams

The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
Royals - Lorde
Simple Life - Casey Abrams
Simple Pleasures - David Myles
Give Me The Simple Life - Dane Vannatter
Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles
Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin
Lost in the Supermarket - The Clash

Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz) EXPLICIT - Macklemore & Ryan
Save That Money - Rufus Thomas

Save Dat Money (feat Fetty Wap & Rich Homie Quan) - Lil Dicky
Chic 'N' Stu - System Of A Down
Spend, Spend, Spend - The Slits

No Money - Galantis
The Busy Girl Buys Beauty - Billy Bragg
Taxman - The Beatles
Money - Pink Floyd
These Days - Powderfinger

You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones
What Do I Do - Lanie Lane
Shake It Off - Taylor Swift

Oh No! - Marina and the Diamonds
Love Don't Cost a Thing - J Lo

Here is the link to Spotify

If you would like to know more about how these songs inspire others to save money, or if you can think of some more songs to add to the list, pop into our Forum thread here.

Years later, I confessed to my sister that I hadn't made the mix tape, she had made the mix tape herself. I found it in her room after she had left home and sent it to her!

T-Shirts

Personalised t-shirts are a useful and low cost gift which you can customise perfectly to suit the recipient. We have a great range of designs for all ages which you can print out directly from our site.

Home Made Biscuits

...with hand decorated labels.

Home made biscuits are a great gift. However, I've been told teachers aren't too fond of receiving food made by children with questionable hygiene! This method means mum can make snot-free biscuits, while the kids colour the labels to go on the jars.

To make it super easy for you, we have some labels for members to use in our Downloads area:

Tinned 'Baby Poo'

The best presents either taste delicious or make you laugh. We have created a gift that does both - canned baby poo!

This is one of our favourite gifts to give. It's funny, looks great and tastes great too. Yes, it really does taste great! This is because the 'baby poo' is actually yummy caramel, made from boiled sweetened condensed milk.

To make your own, start by peeling the label off of four tins of sweetened condensed milk.

Place some cutlery in the bottom of a large pot and fill with water. This is important, as you don't want your tins to be touching the bottom of the pot, otherwise they can over cook.

Carefully place your tins into the pot, making sure they are completely covered with water and the bottom of each one is touching the cutlery, not the pot.

Bring everything to the boil and simmer for two hours.

Once the tins are cool, remove them from the water.

Dry the tins thoroughly to stop them rusting.

Print and cut out your baby poo labels, then once the cans are completely cool and dry, stick them on.

As you can see, the caramel really does look like baby poo!

You can make your own labels with Canva (www.canva.com) or if you are a Vault member you can use our labels. The labels (for Members) are in our downloads area, here.

Here is the back of the label:

The labels are for Vault Members Only

Jars of 'Troll Blood'

You may also remember our Troll Blood and some of our others from a few years ago:

You can find the recipe for Troll's Blood, along with other labels in the December 2015 Newsletter

I hope you enjoy these gift ideas and they put smiles on your loved one's faces. Have fun!

2. The Ultimate Gift Planner

The Ultimate Gift Planner is a handy invention which works by showing you the who, when and what of your year ahead. First, you figure out all the people you give gifts to in a year. From this, you can estimate how many gifts you wish to give. Then comes the fun part; thinking of some great gift ideas. By taking a photo of your completed planner with your phone, from now on, any time you are shopping, you will have everything you need to get the perfect gift at the perfect price.

No more Christmas rushes, no more getting caught unprepared, no more Christmas queues. You will already have everything under control!

Download your Ultimate Gift Planner here.

3. NEW Competition: Inspiring Others

January is Wealthy Habits month, and what better way to start the year than inspiring others to set their money saving habits off on the right foot?

This month we want to know: What is the best advice you would give to someone who has a big pile of wasteful habits? How do you motivate and encourage someone who is new to the saving game?

Or at the other end of the scale, what was the thing someone else said to you which inspired you to change your wasteful ways?

We have four prizes of $50 to award for the best answers. To enter, send us your entries by December 31st. Email your entries to: competitions@simplesavings.com.au

4. WINNERS: Proudest Simple Savings Moment

What an incredible response we had to our last competition, 'What is your proudest Simple Savings moment?' The entries were so good, I couldn't choose just four winners, we had to increase it to six! Here are the winners:

"Over the years Simple Savings has helped me tighten my shopping (both food and clothes), learn to repurpose or use up and be content with our lifestyle, rather than wanting what the 'Jones Family' had. This allowed us to live on one income for a long time without feeling like we or our children were missing out. But more than that, I learned how to cut down our household bills and budget using the banks to help, rather than hinder us. This was very evident when last year we were in the process of buying a house (and moving), when our income dropped very suddenly. We went with only a quarter income for six weeks and have only had half the budgeted income since. Even though that happened in October (while dealing with moving and connection costs), we still paid all our school fees, booklists, Christmas expenses and back to school costs with cash. Through the power of wise budgeting, household management and knowing how to use what we already had, we have come through unscathed (and without a credit card debt)! Thanks to all the work at Simple Savings and the community of people willing to share their knowledge!"

Susan Zelley

"I joined Simple Savings a few years ago but wasn't following your ideas religiously at the time.

"Then in 2015 I was made redundant. It was my third redundancy and it hit me really hard. Our income was reduced in half and I was not able to get a job for two-and-a-half years. Since I had a lot of time on my hands, I started reading all the information from Simple Savings. I even won a free membership, so went through the membership area and learned heaps.

"I didn't have much money during those two-and-a-half dark years but I learned so much. I've become very organised and my house looks very neat. Everything is in its place and I have become a very creative cook and a great housekeeper. I have even managed to save all the extra money I earned by writing articles, tax refunds, being paid to sit on a couple of boards and taking catering orders for friends and making cakes. One year we went on holiday to Japan while I was still unemployed and we didn't borrow money or use our credit cards.

"I set up my own consultancy after about a year of redundancy, and started earning a little money and later worked for one of my clients for a year. This year I found a great part time job which I enjoy very much.

"After learning to live on one income for a few years, we still live quite carefully. Our lifestyle hasn't changed much and we have savings, bought two cars (mine was falling to pieces) and also bought an investment property. I borrowed the money for my car from our savings and am paying it back to myself without paying interest on borrowed money. We've had three overseas holidays after redundancy too and hoping to do more travelling.

"Thank you Simple Savings for helping me cope and learn about life".

Sue B

"My proudest savings moment was the day I cut our grocery bill in half. I sat down a couple of days beforehand and listed everything in the pantry and freezer and got out all my recipe books. I meal planned and was determined NOT to waver from my shopping list. I went to two alternative grocery stores, and finally the supermarket I usually shop at to get anything that wasn't available elsewhere. When I arrived home I set to baking and cooking, freezing a certain portion of what I made for future convenience. I made a list of the items I have available and put it on the fridge so everyone knew what what available. There was more variety in our menu which the family enjoyed. Savings as well as enjoyment - who can ask more than that!"

Cheryl McKay

"My proudest Simple Savings moment was after we had moved to our new home we bought. It was not the fact that we had bought our home, nor was it the fact that we had a garage to put our boat in, nor was it the fact that we had enough room for our three cars; one belonging to our son that we helped purchase. What was it you ask?

"It was a scrumpled piece of paper. Yep, that was my proudest Simple Savings moment! It was during the unpacking of our boxes that I found a scrumpled up piece of paper, that when I unscrumpled it had a list of goals for the next five years. This is what was on that list:

Help our son buy his first car - tick
Buy a home that is affordable for us, is inviting to everyone who comes and visits and is available at the end of 2011 - tick (paying a mortgage that is less than the rent we were paying).
Buy a boat for my husband and me and a car to be able to pull the boat - tick and tick.

"You would think we had won the lottery! Or had a change in jobs or an inheritance - but no, it was all down to deciding that we wanted to start making our hard earned money work for us, not us having to work hard just for our money. So I joined Simple Savings and started being money savvy, thanks to ALL of the wonderful members who were happy to share their experiences and stories, both good and bad. I started to be money smart just like the members and all the above items I was proud to read what we had achieved. I did have other items on the list, but they were things that didn't really matter to us (such as buying brand new furniture for our new home, we decided we were happy with our second hand purchases, apart from some items we bought brand new). Although one goal on the list is still important to me, to have a holiday wherever I want every year. That one might be number one in my next list. Off to find a new sheet of paper and a pen!"

T Kaye

"My proudest savings moment was when I paid off all my debt. A $40,000 credit card and a $10,000 personal loan.

"I made a decision about three years ago that I needed to get rid of my debt, once and for all. I did this by tracking all my spending. I bought an exercise book and began writing down every cent that I spent. I changed my habits, because I had to make sure that what I bought was good enough to go in the book. If I thought it wasn't worthy, then I didn't put it in. I ate everything out of my pantry, gave up shopping trips to Kmart (it's cheap, but it's not cheap if you don't need it, and can't afford it). I also started putting aside 20% of my wage and I now have $70,000 in the bank. A great start on buying my first home! I turned off every light that I could, stretched out my shampoo, conditioner and handwash by mixing it with water when I was almost out. I only bought groceries on special and gave up my weekly manicure/pedicure!

"While I can now relax this a little, I am still going to keep it up, so I can continue to save for a deposit on a house".

Jocelyn Robinson

"With a new baby on the way it was time to tackle the 'junk room' You know the one; the spare room/space that just seems to grow every time you open the door? This is the before and after. Everything was taken out and only put back if needed. Multiple car loads to the local op shop and donations given away on our local 'Pay it Forward' page, left us with a clutter free nursery.

"My top tips - be ruthless. If in doubt chuck it out, try not to keep too many multiples of items. If you were out at the shops right now would you buy the item? If it's broken/damaged are you really going to fix it?"

Before:

After!

Erin Johnston

Wow! Thank you to everyone who entered the competition and congratulations to our winners. You all deserve a huge pat on the back!

5. Forum: We Have a New Search Engine!

You read correctly! Matt has created a lovely new search engine to make browsing the squillions of brilliant discussions and topics in the Forum tons easier. The feedback has been great and members are really enjoying using the new function. Matt has some more tricks up his sleeve to make it even better still in the future! We hope you love using the new site on your phone too. If you haven't tried the new search engine yet and would like to learn more about it, pop into the Forum thread here.

6. Two-hour Decluttering: Precious Memories

The hardest thing with decluttering is getting started. Every job seems too large and I never have the time. So to make it less daunting and ensure it actually gets done, I break my decluttering missions into managable chunks of no more than two hours at a time. Here are some recent examples of decluttering in the Lippey household:

Kids' paintings

Our kids love their painting but over the years we had accumulated an immense stash of canvases in the garage, never to see the light of day again. So we came up with some simple rules that would help us to declutter, while still being able to 'keep' all of their paintings for posterity:

If you can find a space for it on the wall, we will keep it
If you want to keep painting on the canvas, we can keep it

Otherwise we would take a photo of the painting, take the canvas to the tip shop for someone else to use, and just keep the photo of the artwork on file instead.

First, we took all the paintings outside and found a spot with perfect light. Next, we put a step stool next to them and started photographing the canvases. Twenty minutes later, I had shots of all the kids' paintings. Here are some of them. They are very cute :-)

Now all of their paintings are out of storage and are either on walls, or documented with photographs. In addition we also have regained some valuable shelf space. Those canvases had been taking up masses of room in the garage for years, yet it took less than an hour to get them down and photograph them all. It also only took 10 minutes to get the kids to choose their favourite paintings and 20 minutes to hang them around the house. Best of all, we had fun doing it!

My sewing box

This is my sewing box. It is small, tidy and looks nice when it is sealed.

Unfortunately, inside was a complete mess. Sewing with it was a pain. I could never find anything and to locate something I either had to dig around in the box and risk being stabbed with a needle, or tip the entire load out onto the table.

I racked my brain trying to find a solution and contemplated buying the perfect sewing box from Bunnings when I realised I already had something that might work. A cutlery canteen the kids bought at the school fete for $5.

I started by sorting through the pile, throwing out duplicates and things I would never use, such as sequins from my belly dancing days. Next, I laid things out in the cutlery canteen so I could see them.

Here is the final result. It took around half an hour to transform everything from a horrendous mess to a neat and tidy sewing box.

As I looked at my lovely new sewing box and thought of the impossible mess it used to be, I had to wonder: Why did it take me this long?

The bottom drawer

This year's quest to reduce my time in the kitchen has been a success. The Thermomix is used 2-3 times a day, the ingredient labelling system is fantastic and finding lids in my container drawer is super easy. But, there was one drawer I hadn't yet had the strength to touch: The miscellaneous bottom drawer. Here is a photo of it. ARGH!!

It took me ages to start decluttering this drawer but the whole thing was emptied, sorted, cleaned, repacked and photographed in less than an hour.

The best part of all about my spurts of two-hour decluttering is that my husband Matt and friend Rae also joined in. Between them they filled up the trailer. How's that for impressive! Goodbye clutter! Hello SPACE. I'm looking forward to starting 2019 with a cleaner, more organised home.

2018 has been a good year. My kitchen is more efficient. My goals for 2019 are to keep my family healthy, re-paint the inside of my home and get back on the growing veggies wagon.

Wishing you a safe and happy Christmas, and a prosperous New Year!

All the best,

Fiona

PS: If you like these free money saving tips, imagine how many more you can learn when you purchase a Vault membership! The Vault contains thousands of tips to save you money on just about anything you can think of, all neatly categorised for you to browse the areas that interest you most easily. It costs a tiny $21 per year to join, and will save you much, much more throughout the whole year. To learn more and become a member, click here.

February 16th 2017 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Hello,

Thank you for all your wonderful feedback about the changes to our newsletters. We're so glad to hear you are enjoying the new, shorter format!

"Love the new format & determined to make some positive changes this year, both in lifestyle & finances!" Tracy C

"Just want to say what a great idea it is to send smaller emails more often, I get withdrawal symptoms waiting for the monthly ones!" Trish B

As always, if you have any feedback - good or bad, please write in and tell us. What would you like to see in your Simple Savings emails? Which savings topics which you most like our help with?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many grins,
Fiona

Sally and Hanna: What's the World Coming To?

"Oh good grief, it just gets worse!" Sally said, looking at her computer screen in panic. "What gets worse?" asked Hanna, through a mouthful of sandwich. "What do you think? All this stuff about Donald Trump, it's all over Facebook", Sally waved a hand at the screen. "Honestly, I haven't slept properly in days! Don't you worry about what's going to happen to you?" she looked wide-eyed at Hanna.

"Why, what's going to happen to me?" Hanna smiled, still calmly eating her sandwich. "Don't you know what this could mean for us? We could lose our jobs, our homes, anything! Honestly Hanna, I thought you of all people would be up with the play", Sally glared. "I am up with the play!", Hanna replied. "But there's no point worrying about it; we're already doing everything we can. It's business as usual in our house."

"What on earth do you mean?" Sally asked. "I mean things don't have to change", smiled Hanna. "We just live frugally the way we always have. When you know how to survive on a tiny budget, you are always prepared for whatever life throws at you. Relax, Sal! It will be alright." "Do you really think so?" Sally looked hopeful. "Yes, I do", Hanna replied. "If you're really worried, grow a few vegies in the yard and get some chickens. Balance your budget and focus on building yourself a nest egg. You'll get through." "Well - that makes sense. I feel a bit better now", said Sally "Thanks Hanna! Build myself a nest egg, you say? Guess I'll definitely need those chickens then!"

Next time: In our next newsletter we will talk about some easy ways you can get started building your own nest egg. Chickens are optional ;-)

Savings Tip: My '$10 top-up' challenge saves up to 2/3 on groceries!

I am spending a fraction of what I used to on food and other groceries since I set myself a $10 top-up challenge! Every few days I would go to the shops to top up bread, milk, butter, tomatoes and other essentials. However I found invariably I would need this or that that hadn't been included in my regular grocery shop and I would end up spending about $20-$30. Not any more though! Now I walk in with only $10 and stick to the $10 top up budget. For example, today it was bread on sale, chicken drumsticks and hot cross buns, which came to a total of just $8.50. I am much happier with the new, lower amount! Walking in with $10 for top-up groceries is challenging but also saves us money as we use whatever is at home and there is a lot less wastage. Happy me, happy wallet and happy environment!

Contributed by: PlanB

Got a great money saving tip? Send it in to us and you could win!

We love to hear all your favourite ways to save money. Share them with us today and you could win a year's free membership to the Simple Savings website! All it takes is a few minutes to enter and the winner gets to enjoy access to thousands more brilliant money saving tips and resources in our precious Savings Vault, as well as everyone's favourite, the Savings Forum. To be in to win, send your tips in to us here. You can enter as many times as you like, so don't be shy!

Bye for now

That's all for today. If you want to get a head start on building your nest egg before the next newsletter, visit our website - there are stacks of brilliant tips waiting to help you save money right now!

Until next time,
Fiona

February 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Sally the Super Saver!
March is Hidden Gems Month
This Month's Competition: Share Your Best Hidden Gem and WIN!
$21 Challenge Update
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Hidden Gems Galore
Best of the Vault: Thinking Outside the Square
Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Hooray for Hidden Gems!
Homeopathy Corner: Disaster Remedies Part II
From Last Month: Too Many Tomatoes
This Month's Help Request: Go Away Silverfish!
Savings Story: Don't Give Up

Hello,

How are you going? I hope you have had a good month. It has been a month of ups and downs in the Lippey household. This month, I did eight library talks, which was both really scary (I hate talking in public) and absolutely wonderful. The best bit was meeting so many Simple Savers. A lot of really lovely people turned up to the talks and it made them a lot of fun. I also learnt many new tips from the audience including some new hidden gems (special places to shop) in my area that I didn't know before. Such as; ALDI is the cheapest place to buy environmentally sustainable fish on the Sunshine Coast and the best place to get fruit and vegies is at Fisherman's Road market at 4.30am on a Sunday! I also found out how brilliant our local librarians are. It was wonderful to meet so many members in person for the first time, and to top it all off, we received awesome letters too!

"Imagine how perfect it was to receive your newsletter this month, perfectly timed! I've been away for 10 days and came home late last night to nothing 'fresh' in the house. I was wondering what on earth to have for lunch, when I read the pantry salad recipe. In an hour's time I will have a healthy and nutritious lunch at 'no cost'! Also, imagine my surprise to discover that I can actually make chocolate syrup! As the mother of two 'starving' teenage boys who are constantly guzzling milkshakes, it had been getting quite expensive to buy the topping. Now I can make my own from a few simple ingredients which are also in my pantry!

"I'm still grateful for learning that I can freeze pumpkin, and now freeze all sorts of vegies prepped and cut up, ready to just toss into a stew or soup. I recently discovered that you can also freeze garlic! Many, many thanks to this month's contributors as once again I've learned heaps! Keep up the great work." (Belinda Lee)

"I've borrowed 'The $21 Challenge' twice from my local library. I don't generally buy books but I've made an exception for this one. I have been managing our household shopping for over 40 years and thought I was a very wise shopper. I was brought up with the mantra 'waste not - want want' ringing in my ears. My mother was a born recycler and I realise most of it has actually rubbed off on me. However reading your book made me see that I was falling into some bad habits and the two big supermarket chains were causing me to make unwise purchases. I've always shopped with a list, but I was falling into the 'special' trap and buying stuff I didn't really need immediately. When I took stock of my pantry I found I had too much of everything!

"The turning point for me in my decision to actually lay out some cash for your book was all the fantastic information on how to substitute ingredients. Especially herbs; there's always one that I haven't got that appears to be a key ingredient in a recipe. I look forward to the many times I know I'll be dipping into your book for ideas on how to use up the odd bits and pieces that we all end up with, no matter how good we think we are at not wasting anything.

"I no longer rely on my memory for the contents of the freezer. I bought a special notebook and I list the contents of the freezer right down to the last lonely sausage or bits of herbs. Use it up/cross it off, add something/write it down. It's made a huge difference to the way I menu plan and shop. I use one section of notebook for a permanent shopping list. I buy nothing for the pantry until I've opened the last of that particular item and it's then written on the list. Now before I go shopping, I plan the week's meals using the freezer list, check what's on the permanent list for any key ingredients and only go and buy what I really need for that week. Thank you a thousand times over for the wake-up call!" (Anne Whiteway)

"I have been a member for about three years now and in November of last year I was thinking about not renewing my membership. I didn't think I was using the site or your information much. I didn't think I was much of a Simple Saver. Then, at the end of last year, I did a financial overview of where we're at for my husband. I've been a stay-at-home-mum since July 2008 and in that time we've managed to live OK; we've had two kids, still managed camping holidays and we are over $20,000 ahead in our home loan. OK so the GFC assisted with that but if I hadn't been a Simple Saver I may not have capitalised on it! So after this I realised that I AM a Simple Saver and I do need this membership. I've used and eagerly await my new calendar at the end of each year, I use the Bill Payment System each week and I use the Vault for gift ideas and really, ideas on anything. So, although I may not be as hard core as some, I am very proud to be a Simple Saver and thank you very much for a job well done and for helping me to spend precious time with my babies." (Kylie-Ann Martin)

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. We are working on the follow up book to the $21 Challenge now which is focusing on long term food savings. If there is anything you would like us to cover in this book, please send us an email and we will do our best to include it.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Sally the Super Saver!

Sally had to stop herself from running into her Savings Group meeting! All month she had dedicated herself to finding the best deals and the best shops in her area. No stone had been left unturned and now Sally was reaping the savings. All her findings had been recorded neatly in black and white and now she couldn't wait to show the others.

"I've done it!" she announced proudly. "Since our last meeting I've been EVERYWHERE working out the best place to buy things in our area. I know the best place to buy my vegies, the best place to get my meat, the best op shop and I've even got the best insurance plan!" she beamed triumphantly, tapping her folder.

The rest of the group clapped and cheered in surprise. "Well done, Sally! You really are a Super Saver!" Hanna gave her friend a hug. "That's a fantastic effort, Sal, congratulations! We would love to see what you came up with. Any chance we could have a look at your folder?" "Of course, I'd be happy to show you!" Sally's eyes sparkled. "You could save us all a fortune by the time we leave this room!" grinned Hanna. "Thanks, Sal, you're a real gem!"

2. March is Hidden Gems Month!

Sally has taken a huge step in the right direction. To be a smart consumer you definitely need to do your homework and shop around. However, you also need to work together with friends so that everyone can benefit from each other's knowledge and help one another. This month is Hidden Gems month, where we share our favourite little-known shops and encourage others to share theirs too!

What exactly is a 'Hidden Gem'?

For those who haven't heard about them before, Hidden Gems are shops that save you time and money every time you go there but the specials are rarely advertised. They are the best shops in your area - but you have to go looking for them.

How do I find a 'Hidden Gem'?

This is the easy way; if this fails, you will have to do it the hard way. Start with the phone directory. Work out all the shops in your area that sell the goods you want, then put on your Simple Savings hat (that's a metaphorical hat, not a real one; we don't sell hats!), get in the car and check out each shop in person. Chat to the staff. Check out the goods, check out the prices and work out which has the best value.

Why are 'Hidden Gems' so brilliant?

Not all shops are equal. Hidden Gem stores can save you a heap of money compared to other stores. Imagine if, like Sally, you shopped around and got the best deals on vegies, meat, insurance and everything else. Imagine how the savings would add up each week, each month, each year. You could save an absolute fortune! I recently met a woman at a library talk who spent three hours researching and calling a few stores and lowered her yearly bills by $1280. Not bad for three hours' work!

So celebrate the Hidden Gems in your area this month! Find them and, importantly, SHARE THEM in our new, improved Hidden Gems Directory. This is a special feature which is available to Vault members only. Why? Because it takes time and effort to find really good Hidden Gems. Our frugal members have worked hard to dig up these bargains and are not willing to give them away to all and sundry. We respect their wishes, which is why the directory is, and will stay, exclusive to Vault members. If you would like to become a Vault member and enjoy all the benefits it has to offer, you can do so right away! Simply click here to join and access a wealth of tips and advice from thousands of savvy members who shop at Hidden Gem stores every day. Good luck hunting for your Hidden Gems this month - and when you find them, be sure to tell us about them!

3. This Month's Competition: Share Your Best Hidden Gem and WIN!

Hidden Gems may be hard to find but they stand out a mile from other stores with their consistently good service and value for money. Stores such as these deserve rewarding with your custom and support. They deserve to be given credit for doing the right thing by their customers. In this month's competition, you get the chance to do just that! We want you to tell us all about your favourite Hidden Gem shop. Who are they? Where are they? Most importantly, WHY are they your favourite Hidden Gem? Why do you like them? What is it that makes them so good? The more information you can give, the better. There will be a first prize of $500 and three runner-up prizes of $100 each. Awards wil be given for the most entertaining and well-written accounts of your favourite store. We can't wait to see all your wonderful Hidden Gems! You can enter the competition here. The closing date for entries is March 25th.

4. $21 Challenge Update

It's been a busy month with the $21 Challenge! Fiona has been flat out doing library talks and we have been working with the lovely ladies at Healthy Food Guide magazine to help spread the word that the $21 Challenge IS indeed healthy! Check out this month's issue, which has a brilliant eight-page feature including tips for surviving the Challenge, some favourite recipes from the book and heaps of ways you can use up all kinds of leftovers from your fridge and turn them into yummy, filling dishes. This is the second time that the $21 Challenge has been featured in the Healthy Food Guide magazine - big thanks to Georgia and Niki for their support!

5. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Tracey D (or should we say Tracey's hubby!) for this extract from their blog 'Happy Little Blogger' where the family find a real gem of a second hand piano. Or do they?!

Scaling dizzy heights

Given the musical bent of our children - they know all the words to Mary Had A Little Lamb and I caught Miss 7 tapping her foot the other day - we have decided to buy a piano.

Oddly, the only comment we've managed to illicit from both Tracey's mother and my own when we mentioned this is, "Where the heck are you going to put it?"

They have a point. We only just manage to fit the children in.

Naturally I gave each of them the same answer, "Wherever Tracey says."

Another reason we MUST get a piano is ever since Tracey came up with the idea I've been entertaining a secret desire to learn to play Billy Joel's Baby Grand (only I would sing both Billy's AND Ray Charles' parts cause I'm needy and want attention).

Sadly I also secretly know that as I have stumpy fingers and no rhythm it would be nothing short of a miracle if I learned to play chopsticks.

Weeks of searching on eBay finally secured us a slightly used Beale Upright for $50, and only 5km away from where we live.

Getting it here turned out to be a problem. All the Internet sites I visited called for four blokes with experience and muscles. Well, that's not going to happen. Master 19 has gone to Brisvegas and between the two of us he's the only one with muscles. I plead guilty to having the piano moving experience though, but only because I've watched the YouTube videos...

So I rang a local removalist. Only an hour's work, tops. Couldn't be more than $100, right? Oh, so wrong. $220 - plus extra for each step. Added onto the $165 for tuning the beast when it arrives and this $50 piano is becoming serious money for a bunch of as yet unproven virtuosos!

So I'm thinking, maybe if I grab a couple of young fellas and give them beer? Four blokes at a carton each will cost us $120, steps included. Actually, five cartons: forgot to pay myself.

But then Tracey calls up the seller and discovers the description, "The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended," was a little exaggerated and the old Joanna would play everything in the key of O (as in 'O no that sounds awful') cause we would also need to re-felt the piano. Whatever the heck re-felting is. Cost? Something like a kidney.

Needless to say we're still looking for a piano.

And the kids - Elton, Tori, Kate, Ray, Carol and Alicia - will have to wait a while longer until they belt out their first number one hit.

Congratulations Tracey and hubby, keep up the great work! To read more from Tracey, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

6. Best of the Forum: Hidden Gems Galore

The Savings Forum is a great place to find all sorts of Hidden Gems as our savvy members share them with each other all the time! Whether you want to find the best deal on car rental, the best phone or Internet plans or the best place to buy a new computer, look no further than the Forum!

New Gilberts in Midland, WA

Mum of E&A is excited to share one of her new favourite stores, where she managed to get fantastic deals on everyday groceries and saved a fortune on a fortnight's worth of food!
read more...

La Manna at Essendon

Want to know how good a particular store is? Ask the Forum! You can guarantee honest reviews and can save time and money before you even start!
read more...

Save on gluten-free products in Adelaide

A gluten-free diet can be hugely expensive without a reliable Hidden Gem! In this thread Julie shares her favourite gluten-free shop in Adelaide.
read more...

Sharing bargains, specials, discounts, free...#4

Want to know where the best bargains can be found right now? These members have been busy digging up Hidden Gems all month!
read more...

Online perfumes

Jemma likes the look of the savings she could make by purchasing her favourite fragrances online but is hesitant to buy without recommendations. Fortunately the members are quick to help her sort the best from the rest!
read more...

The Ahh Bra

Salli desperately wants some new bras but is wary of paying a fortune for ill-fitting, poor quality garments. She sees an advertisement for the 'Ahh Bra' but wonders could they be too good to be true? The Forum members give their verdict!
read more...

Which bank are you with?

Time for a Major Change needs some help deciding which new bank to choose. Which offers the best service and value in ongoing fees? The members are happy to help!
read more...

Best health insurance

Salt & Pepper wants to know 'what do you like about your insurance?' Read on for a thought provoking discussion!
read more...

7. Best of the Vault: Thinking Outside the Square

It doesn't matter HOW you find a Hidden Gem, as long as you find one! These tips from the Savings Vault show how a little creative thinking can result in some massive savings.

Prepping floor for tiling saves $1205

We saved $1205 by removing the old lino and carpet ourselves when we had our house tiled. When we received our quote from the tiler we noticed a charge of $1250 to remove the old flooring. Instead, we went to Bunnings and bought a heat gun, Stanley knife, wide chisel, sharpening stone, bolster, paint scraper and a hammer, all for $45. We then spent three days of fairly strenuous work, but it was worth it for the $1205 saving! Removing lino is fairly easy. Cut a strip down the lino about 50cm wide, run a heat gun over it in a sweeping motion until the lino is warm then in a steady motion peel the lino up. When it gets hard again, re-warm it with the heat gun. If the lino separates from the backing, stop and use the chisel to scrape underneath it until it is peeling off smoothly again.

Contributed by: TayNicJam

Enjoy Ssssuper Ssssavings with a Drain Snake!

We've saved hundreds of dollars on call-out fees for a plumber by hiring a 'Drain Snake'! Our pipes often become blocked and require clearing out, which, until recently, was always done by a plumber. Although we were getting 'mates rates', the cost still came to $150 for less than an hour's worth of work. (I dread to think what the normal rates are for a plumber!) So, instead, we hired a heavy-duty 'drain snake' from an equipment hire centre for $45, and it worked better than the hand-held one the plumber used. Our drains are working better than ever and have done so for the last few months since we hired it.

Contributed by: Elkebelle

Passport to free kids attractions in NSW

If you live in NSW sign up to kidspassport.nsw.gov.au for free kids' passes to over 70 museums, galleries, art centres and attractions across the state. After registering online you will receive a passport for each child which allows them to enter for free. This has saved me heaps over the school holidays. The program runs until April 26 2011.

Contributed by: Sarah Rakow

Enjoy constant discounts on iTunes cards

I always buy iTunes cards at a discounted price thanks to a handy website I found that keeps track of when iTunes cards are on sale at all the different retailers. I have found the site invaluable when buying presents for teenagers. I simply check for the best deals currently available and always get between 10% and 25% off the full retail price. I have been following this for about eight months and during that time there have only been a few weeks where there wasn't a sale on somewhere. The site's called 'iTunes on sale' and is also available on Facebook and Twitter. Check out: http://www.itunesonsale.com.au

Contributed by: Jacinta Shanahan

Book Depository a big book saver

Check out UK website www.bookdepository.co.uk for the cheapest books. I am a uni student and always find this is the cheapest source of books. I recently bought copies of A Christmas Carol for $7.43 when the local retailers were selling it for $19.99! The Book Depository ships anywhere in the world for free. The only downside is that you may have to wait up to two weeks for your books, but it's worth it!

Contributed by: Morgan Dwyer

House-sitting allows your savings to grow

I have saved $5580 in just five months on rent and expenses by becoming a house-sitter. When I recently lost my job I was forced to reconsider my finances and immediately registered with a house-sitting website for an annual fee of just $65. On my personal profile I entered my details and nominated my preferred areas to house-sit. House-sitting means that you are providing a service to someone in exchange for accommodation. Although some will ask for a small fee to cover utilities, I have not been asked to do so as yet. I simply purchase my usual groceries for myself.

I asked a family with a spare room if I could use it as a base between house-sits. I pay a small weekly rent and my share of the electricity and land line and the costs are very modest compared to what I'd pay whilst living alone. I also found a great 12-month storage deal for the bulk of my belongings where the company gave me four months free because I paid up-front, in full (saving me $1000).

Over the last 20 weeks, it has cost me $2320 for storage, rent and utilities when it would have cost me $7900 had I continued to rent on my own - a saving of $5580. Five of those weeks were rent-free house-sitting where I've paid absolutely no utilities expenses. There are numerous house-sitting websites but the one I registered with is www.housecarers.com.

Contributed by: Neene

8. Cooking with Mimi

This month is Hidden Gems Month so I wanted to tell you about two little gems I've found. The first is in my own backyard!

Do you remember picking nasturtium flowers as a child, and sucking the nectar from the little side stems? I certainly do, but it never occurred to me that the rest of the plant was tasty too! In fact the entire nasturtium plant is edible - leaves, flowers and seeds. The leaves have a flavour very similar to rocket, and the seeds can be used like peppercorns. You can also toss the pretty sunset-coloured flowers through a salad or use them as a garnish. I have several recipes for you this month that show how to use nasturtiums as an ingredient to spice up some of your meals; as well as one which makes a tasty and unique gift.

As for my second 'gem', Hidden Gems was a title destined to send me searching for another 'undiscovered' ingredient, and it was inevitable that my friendly local butcher would get in on the act! I complained to him that it is hard to find an inexpensive cut of meat that isn't minced or made into sausages, and that's when he introduced me to another little treat.

Many of us would remember our neighbourhood butcher giving the lamb shanks to Mum or selling them for $0.20c. No one wanted them back then but now they're a gourmet item! However, the lamb shank of the new millennium is beef cheeks.

Beef cheeks are inexpensive and respond well to braising and slow cooking much like lamb shanks. They need time to become flavoursome and tender, but you'll be well rewarded with a beautiful, melt-in-the-mouth dish, bursting with flavour. This recipe combines both my Hidden Gems!

Slow Braised Beef Cheeks with Nasturtium Leaf Salsa Verde

You may need to order the beef cheeks ahead of time. Some butchers still call them ox cheek. They should cost between $0.50c and $1.50 each. A larger one can be split in half lengthwise and will easily feed two people.

Equipment:

Slow cooker (crock pot) or casserole dish with a firm fitting lid
Sharp knife
Frypan and tongs
Medium bowl
3-4 cup capacity jug
Measuring cups

Ingredients:

½ to 1 beef cheek per person
1 large onion, sliced
¾ cup plain flour
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups boiling water
2 stock cubes, chicken or beef flavour
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

Turn the slow cooker on to 'low' or if using a casserole dish, preheat the oven to 175C fan forced or 190C non fan-forced. Put the flour into the medium bowl.

Trim the beef cheeks of most of the sinew. There will be some fat remaining and that's fine. It makes the cheeks extra tender. If your butcher has supplied larger pieces, cut them lengthwise in two.

Toss the meat and the onion rings in the flour.

Add the boiling water to the stock cubes in a jug, and stir until dissolved.

Heat the frypan over a high temperature, and sear the beef until golden brown. Set aside in the slow cooker or casserole dish.

Panfry the onion rings for about one minute until golden.

Add the stock, balsamic vinegar, sugar and mustard to the onions in the pan, and stir until the gravy is slightly thickened.

Pour the mixture over the beef, ensuring it's well covered.

Seal the casserole dish firmly with a lid or foil, or place the lid on the slow cooker.

For slow cooking: cook for 8-9 hours on low, 3-4 hours on high.

For oven bake: cook for 2-3 hours, checking for tenderness after 2 hours.

This is a dish that actually improves if made 1-2 days ahead of serving. Reheat gently in the oven or slow cooker for up to an hour, ensuring you have plenty of gravy. Add more liquid if necessary. Be certain that the meat is well heated through before serving.

For extra compliments, serve the beef cheeks with salsa verde, made from ingredients in your own garden!

Nasturtium Leaf Salsa Verde

Salsa verde is a paste-like green sauce, often served with meat dishes to add a bit of a savoury flavour. A little like pesto without the nuts, this one will add a real peppery bite to your braised beef cheeks.

Equipment required:

Food processor or blender or mortar and pestle
Jug for storing
Measuring cups

Ingredients:

1 cup smallish nasturtium leaves (the large ones have a very strong flavour but are fine if you wish to use them)
1 cup other green herbs, such as basil, rocket, mustard, shallots or cress
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp mustard
1 tsp sugar

Method:

Add everything except the oil to the blender or bowl of the food processor. While the blender or processor is running to puree the ingredients, slowly drizzle in the oil. The finished consistency should be similar to thick gravy.

Check for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper if necessary.

Serve some drizzled over the beef cheeks with a little extra on the side.

Salsa verde is best used fresh and when a new batch is just a few steps away, with the ingredients abounding in your own garden, why wouldn't you use it to spice up sausages, chicken, fish or rissoles as often as you like!

While we're on the subject of using garden greens, let me share a recipe for a gorgeous herb infused oil that adds a real burst of flavour to dressings, soups, salads and mayonnaise. This makes a lovely gift, presented in a pretty bottle. I source most of my gift bottles from the local Lifeline store for under $2.00. I also scour supermarket shelves for unlikely items stored in a bottle with a pretty shape. There are often some great finds in discount stores and on the clearance tables at department stores too.

Nasturtium Leaf and Lemon Infused Oil

Must be made two weeks ahead before use.

Ingredients:

25 freshly picked nasturtium leaves
Zest of 4 lemons
1 litre extra virgin olive oil
Pinch or two of salt

Method:

Roll the nasturtium leaves into a cigar shape and feed into your chosen storage bottle.

Zest the lemon, being sure to not get any of the white pith as it will make your oil bitter. Feed the zest into the bottle.

Gently heat the oil, to kill any bacteria present

Pour the oil over the leaves and zest, and seal. Store in a cool, dark, place, swirling the bottle around every few days. After two weeks pour a little onto a spoon and taste test. If the flavour has developed enough for your liking, strain the oil, discard the leaves and zest, add seasoning and bottle into a suitable small container. If you would prefer a stronger flavour, leave for a few more days, testing every third day, until the flavour has developed to your liking.

This oil is used as a condiment, much like tomato sauce. Swirl a little into soups on serving, or use as an ingredient in salad dressing. It's also delicious drizzled over steamed potatoes, rice or pasta. It has a strong flavour though, so use sparingly.

It is important to heat the oil gently prior to adding the zest and leaves, to kill any bacteria present. Once the oil has infused with these ingredients for several hours it can then be bottled for use. Please use within one week.

To make a longer lasting oil, you must dehydrate the leaves and zest first. You can do this simply by peeling the zest from the lemon with a vegetable peeler and arranging it, along with the nasturtium leaves, in the sun for several days. When completely dry, you can then add these ingredients to the oil, leaving to infuse for several weeks, before straining and bottling for gift giving. Use within three months.

And...

Finally, you might be surprised to know that nasturtium leaves are a perfect replacement for Rocket in any recipe. They have the same peppery, savoury bite as Rocket, and frankly are far easier to grow!

Here's my new twist on a cafe favourite salad.

Mignonette and Nasturtium leaf salad with Pear and Parmesan

Serves 1

Equipment:

Sharp knife
Vegetable peeler
Serving bowl
Paper towels

Ingredients:

2-3 leaves mignonette lettuce (any lettuce or greens will do)
4-6 young nasturtium leaves
1 pear
A few curls of parmesan cut from a larger piece with a vegetable peeler

Method:

Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces.

Trim and shred the young nasturtium leaves if desired, or do as I do and leave them whole, stems attached.

Slice the pear thinly, leaving the skin intact.

Use the vegetable peeler to slice a few curls from a wedge of cheese. Parmesan is best for this, but any will do.

Place the lettuce in the bowl. Place the pear slices on top in a fan shape. Decorate with the nasturtium shreds and parmesan curls.

Serve immediately, seasoned to taste.

9. Penny's Blog: Hooray for Hidden Gems!

February 16th

As any long suffering parent knows, shopping is a far more enjoyable experience if you don't have children in tow. Not only is it far less stressful, it's also so much cheaper! The novelty of the supermarket wore off for my children a loooong time ago so for some years now I have been spared the embarrassing tantrums at the lolly aisle and random objects mysteriously appearing in my trolley, followed by yet more tantrums at the checkout. However, my two boys have now reached the delightful age where they refuse point blank to go shopping with me at ALL!

The main reason for this is that at 12 and 14 respectively they tell me it is definitely not cool to go shopping with your mum - especially in a small town like Whangamata where EVERYONE sees you! However, they have also made no secret of the fact that they hate shopping with me these days because I spend more time talking than shopping. I can't help it; I've met so many wonderful people since moving here! They are real gems and I'm proud to say that to date I've discovered them all myself.

Take Daryl and Gail for instance. They own the boys' favourite shop, Roar. Long before we moved here I was impressed with their service. As soon as you walk into the store it's obvious that these two love what they do. Like us, they're just so glad to be here! This dedicated couple employ no other staff; it's just the two of them working long hours all year round but you are always guaranteed a warm welcome. Having made the move to Whangamata with their children a few years previously, they were happy to answer any questions Noel and I had with regard to the area, in particular the school and how their own children had made the transition. They were both so helpful and never forgot our faces. Every time we popped in when on holidays or checking out real estate they would immediately ask 'So are you here for good yet?' I couldn't wait to go into the shop to tell them when we had finally made the move!

Since then I try and support their business wherever possible. They always go out of their way to help people find what they're looking for and if they don't have it, they do their best to get it in for you. I love the fact that their shop is 100% devoted to local brands, that they play cool music in store and they are always nice to my boys. Daryl even helped Ali fix the new watch he got for Christmas when he was having trouble with it! They always truly appreciate our custom and have often given us discount on our purchases. Their shop is a one-of-a-kind, true hidden gem!

Another firm favourite is the Whangamata Surf Shop, owned by the Williams family. These guys are awesome! When the boys wanted to learn to surf there were several places we could have gone to for advice but I thought we would try them first and I'm so glad we did. They have been surfing for decades and really know their stuff. As soon as Ali and I walked in, Braedon made us feel welcome. We learned so much from him in that one visit that Ali was able to get up on his surfboard within around 15 minutes of taking it out in the sea. Since then we have also had the pleasure of dealing with Braedon's parents, Dean and Janine and his sister Ella, all of whom work in the shop. Nothing is too much trouble and they always make time to chat and offer help and advice even when the shop is heaving with people. Most of all though, I love their infectious enthusiasm. They make the most of every single day and support each other in everything they do. They are an extremely tight-knit family and their love for each other, their business and their passion for surfing and helping others just radiates from them. Whether Ali needs new wax for his surfboard or Noel needs a new wedding outfit, you can guarantee they will always see us right. I've lost count of the times they've offered to teach me to surf - one day I might just take them up on it!

The thing about Hidden Gems is, when you find a good one, you will keep going back. I remember years ago I had a job as a Saturday girl in a shoe shop with some other girls from school. We were always on hand to help and would approach customers with a smile if it was obvious they needed assistance but apart from that we would let them browse in peace. Until a new manager was appointed, whom we immediately christened Tiny Tim. Small man, huge ego! He insisted that we all jump on the poor unsuspecting customers before they had barely got in the door. We hated doing this and would try to avoid it wherever possible under his ferocious glare but it was obvious that the customers didn't like it. Nine times out of ten they were just coming in for a nosey in their lunch hour and didn't even know what they were looking for but so desperate was our manager to make his sales figures look better than his predecessor that he would do anything to try and manipulate people into buying. We were literally driving customers away! I couldn't bring myself to do it and it wasn't long before I left, as did the rest of the girls I worked with. We had barely handed in our stripey blouses and name badges before we heard that Tiny Tim had been 'let go'...

Fortunately I have yet to come across any Tiny Tim's in Whangamata! Instead I love to support people like Leith and Ange at Stirling Sports, who travel to other stores especially to get things for us, give us discounts AND invite me running. Or the bubbly Sarah from Saltwater who is always 100% honest when she says 'Yes, that dress does look crap on you,' but is nice enough to add 'But it's not you - it's the dress!' Not to mention she invited me to go along to her Zumba class twice a week the moment she learned I'd just moved here. Or EJ, the brilliant hairdresser at Sorenson's who cuts my hair like nobody else. I never have to worry about leaving the salon with that 'Look everybody! I've just had my fringe cut!' look - and to top it off, my first haircut was free!

So those are my favourite Hidden Gems - am I allowed to mention cafes too? I know cafes aren't very SS but if you want brilliant value for money you can't go past Vibes cafe for fantastic breakfasts and Cafe Rossini for awesome lunches. Last time Noel and I went there for lunch we ordered an open chicken sandwich and almost fainted at the price but when it arrived it was MASSIVE! Neither of us could eat it all and we were so full we couldn't even think about eating dinner hours later! Well worth treating yourself if you're ever in town - and if you are, let me know and I'll meet you there!

February 2011

10. Homeopathy Corner: Disaster Remedies Part II

The last couple of months have been horrible. It feels like we have had one natural disaster after another, so we have asked Fran to share with us the homeopathic remedies that can help people in times of distress.

11. From Last Month: Too Many Tomatoes

Last month Kathryn asked:

"I would like some information on preserving or freezing tomatoes. I have too many in the garden to use and do not own a cannery or special jars. I made some pasta sauce last week and reused old pasta sauce jars. I am a mum of five kids, including six-month-old twins, so the ideas need to be fairly simple please. Thanks in advance."

Thank you to the masses of people who responded with their terrific tomato tips! Unfortunately we cannot possibly print them all but here is a selection of some of the huge number we received.

Cook up your tommies on a smokin' hot BBQ!

I came up with a solution to use up the glut of beautiful grape tomatoes we have in our garden. Whenever my husband uses our Weber kettle BBQ I cut a tray's worth of tomatoes in half and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, sugar and olive oil. I then cover them with basil, oregano or rosemary (or any combination of herbs) and put them in the Weber once my husband's finished barbecuing, to cook in the residual heat. Alternatively, they can be slow roasted in the oven, but by using the heat in the Weber after it has cooked something else we save on energy. Once the tomatoes have cooled, I transfer them to a jar or container and freeze them. We had some tonight with pasta, mushrooms and cream and they were delicious!

Contributed by: Margaret Eade

Oven-dried tomatoes are bursting with flavour

I love to oven-dry our seasonal tomatoes. It's such a simple process, but the resulting flavour is fantastic and they can be stored in jars in the fridge for up to two weeks afterwards.

Ingredients:

2kg ripe tomatoes, cut in half
Sea salt
Olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 140°C (120°C for fan forced ovens) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Scoop out seeds from tomatoes, and if they are large, cut them into quarters.
Place onto trays, flesh side up and sprinkle liberally with sea salt.
Roast tomatoes for 2½ hours. Check tomatoes every half hour after the first 1½ hours of cooking.
They are ready once the edges are just starting to look charred but the tomatoes are still soft and pliable.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Place into a large preserving jar or sealable container and pour over enough olive oil to cover.
Seal jar and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Contributed by: Toni McPherson

Sensational stew is quick and easy too!

I have vivid memories of my mum's mouthwatering tomato stew we used to enjoy as kids. She's since told me how easy it was to make and that it was a lifesaver on the nights when she was too tired to do any fancy or laborious cooking. She simply placed a saucepan full of tomatoes in hot water on the stove, added finely chopped onions, salt, pepper and any herbs she had and just boiled it down to a stew. She sometimes took out the skin (but not always) and it didn't matter if it was a bit sloppy, as it was just great on toast with a bit of cheese on top! These days I make up a large amount and freeze it for an easy breakfast or tea option.

Contributed by: Leonie Moore

Frozen pureed tomatoes replace countless tins

Whenever I have a lot of extra tomatoes in the garden I make use of them in recipes that would usually require a large amount of tinned tomatoes.

To prepare them I score the bottoms and place them whole, into boiling water for about two minutes to make them easy to peel. Once peeled, I slice them, place them in a saucepan and cook them for about fifteen minutes. When they have cooled, I either leave them 'chunky' or use my stick blender to make a fine sauce with them.

Then, using a soup ladle, I transfer the sauce into sandwich resealable bags, squeeze out the excess air and seal them up. (Each bag takes about two ladles.) By laying them all out on a baking tray and popping them in the freezer they freeze flat and stack nicely when frozen. Any time a recipe requires a tin of tomatoes I have the perfect amount ready in my freezer.

Contributed by: Bronnie Cartledge

Cut out the hard work and freeze them whole!

Nothing is as simple as freezing tomatoes whole! I don't peel, slice, dice or jar sterilise, I simply give my tomatoes a rinse and pop them straight into the freezer. I freeze them in a single layer overnight then bag them up to avoid freezer burn.

When I need them in my cooking, just a few minutes out of the freezer will allow the skins to peel away easily. (If you don't mind the skins you can put them straight into the pan as they are.) While they're still mostly frozen I chop the tomatoes and use them as I would tinned tomatoes. As they heat through, they mash down easily and the resulting meal always tastes delicious.

Contributed by: Carol Penglis

Relish the thought of those tangy tomatoes

My sister-in-law passed on a delicious tomato relish recipe to me a few years ago. It's now a family favourite and I try to make a batch or two of it every season. It is great in sandwiches and a tablespoon added to rissoles or scrambled eggs produces a lovely flavour.

Tomato Relish

You will need:

1.5kg tomatoes
500g onions
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups vinegar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp salt
Pinch pepper

Method:

Chop the tomatoes and dice the onions finely. Place them in a large saucepan and add sugar and vinegar.

Bring to the boil and then simmer slowly until the liquid reduces and the sauce thickens. Blend flour, powders, salt and pepper with a tiny amount of water and add to saucepan. Stir until boiling again. Allow to cool for five minutes. Bottle into warm, sterilised jars.

Contributed by: Sharon Blanck

Bag up your tomatoes for freezing

Whenever I have a large amount of seasonal tomatoes at home that I don't have an immediate use for I just pop them all into a clean plastic bag and put them straight into the freezer. They can be frozen whole until I'm ready to process them into sauce. If I just need one or two, I give the bag a good knock to dislodge a couple.

Contributed by: Lauren L

Ask around and borrow a dehydrator

If you do not have access to a dehydrator, ask around and see if you can borrow one. If not, you can use your oven on fan-bake. The temperature should be at the lowest setting and you should leave the door propped open with a wooden spoon. Slice tomatoes and dry at 40C for maximum enzyme retention. Dehydration should take twelve or more hours depending on how thick the slices are. Dry tomato slices until pliable but not moist. Store in plastic bags or jars. They can be marinated in olive oil and slices of garlic (the oil can then be reused). I use my sun-dried tomatoes in a range of recipes to add that authentic Mediterranean flavour.

Contributed by: Christine Smith

Bonus tips for Vault members -

Wonderful Watties tomato sauce Contributed by: Dale Findlay

The perfect pot of homegrown pasta sauce Contributed by: Ali-cat

Tomatoes make a souper-tasty meal! Contributed by: Bridget Mcleod

Make your own DIY dehydrator! Contributed by: Maths Nerd

Recycle your jars for cost-free preserving Contributed by: Maria Sigal

Authentic sun dried tomatoes Contributed by: Kelly Kohlhardt

Slow cooked tomato sauce is worth the wait Contributed by: Lyn M

Keep your cool with this tasty Gazpacho soup Contributed by: Valerie Georgeff

Introduce a 'produce-swap' day! Contributed by: Greg And Sue Brunner

12. This Month's Help Request: Go Away Silverfish!

This month Merrilyn asks:

"I am looking for a non-toxic way to eradicate and deter silverfish from my house. Has anyone got a solution for me?"

If anyone has any advice which could help Merrilyn, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: Don't Give Up

This month's story is taken from our Savings Forum. Our Vault members found it so inspirational, we hope you will too!

"It's been some time since I last posted in the Forum. Since the last time I posted, I have:

Broken up with my girlfriend (and her daughter) which was a huge relief financially and emotionally.
Reduced my total debt last year by approximately $22,000. ($6500 credit card gone, $12,000 off car loan, $1000 off another credit card, $2000 off loan to Aunty, $3000 from HECS).
Most importantly I've lost 31kg since I found out that I have a ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) - or hole inside my heart, about 14 months ago. It's slow progress, I've done it totally on my own, as no doctors or fitness people are game to touch me. But soon I'll have lost enough weight and be eligible for corrective surgery to repair it.

How have I done it all? Sometimes I really don't know myself. Education, determination, constant vigilance and stubbornness. Sure, that all sounds like a load of marketing hype but it's the truth. Those ideals and the resonating thought in my head that I am in a war with my debt. Until I win, or die trying I will attack from every angle and chip away at it until I completely obliterate it.

Education. I have educated myself continually. I read Simple Savings and all the other financial sites that people recommend every week, sometimes daily. I look for good deals everywhere I go. I watch for the good deals on TV, newspaper and Internet in every financial aspect. There is no one method that will save enough money to get any person. It is the conglomeration of hundreds of little savings (soldiers) and new ones being added all the time that add up to an army of different ways to destroy the enemy that is debt.

Determination. I am completely determined to reduce my debt and lose weight. I have to do it so I can start a new life for myself. I have to do it because I have no other viable choice. I do it because the alternative is a life of debt, misery and as far as my health goes, death by the time I am 50 if I am lucky. Being in debt is like being dead. You cannot do those things your heart desires. You are not free to make your own choices about where you want to go, and what you want to see. Money can buy you happiness. It seems to be the logical opposite side of the equation. Lack of money brings nothing but misery. The opposite I believe must be true. It split up my relationship and has imprisoned me in my own home for too long.

Constant vigilance. I work out of a spreadsheet which I look at daily to remind me and motivate me. I equate everything to a dollar amount. I scrutinize everything I spend money on by keeping EVERY receipt and chastising myself when I see some frivalous spend was a bit of the line lost. I re-evaluate the situation all of the time so I know which side is winning. As time goes on, companies offer new deals, which you won't know about if you just sit on your hands and hope that you've got the best deal.

Stubborness. I sit at home, I don't go anywhere often other than work. I've built my own little fortress of solitude. I have put my blinkers on to the world around me, as until I am debt-free I do not want anything to distract me from my goal. I am stubborn and will not be swayed. I have changed my entire outlook on life and I know that if I stick to what I have learnt, I will win this war. I have set myself clear goals to keep motivating myself.

I set weight loss goals - how much I want to lose and by when. How far I will walk. How many steps I will take. How many times a week I will exercise and what my ultimate goal will be. I have set myself a goal of having this debt cleared and weight loss achieved by the end of next year. $48,000 to go and another 40kg to lose. When I started out on this seemingly un-winnable battle, I was looking at $90,000 in bad debts and 150kg starting weight. I know I will win. I have no choice but to keep trying.

I have already started to look to the future. Started to think of new goals to work towards as I overcome this seemingly less insurmountable pile of debt. I want to have enough money saved to cover myself if I were to lose my job for any reason. The day I can see as much in my savings account as I see in my debts will be a sweet day. I also want to go on a well deserved overseas holiday.

What I want to say to anyone who is in a similar situation, is don't give up. I've tried to get help from banks or personal trainers and been knocked back repeatedly, but never let it stop me. I only let it make me more resolute in my attitude. No matter how much you think your situation cannot get any worse right now, believe me it can. Look at all the flood affected people around Australia. It puts your own problems into perspective and you must stop and give thanks for what you do have. Imagine having all you have fought for wiped away in a surge of water in a matter of hours. Keep strong and fight the good fight and eventually you can win your own war. Declare war now on your debt, or weight loss or whatever other personal battle you might have. I wish you all the best of luck Simple Savings Warriors.

Paull Mitchell

February 2013 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2013

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Just When You Thought it was Safe...
February: Control Your Cash
How to Make a Basic Budget by David Wright
Best of the Vault: Best Budget Bits
Best Members' Blog: Paper Days and the Pledge
Best of the Forum: Stash That Cash!
Hidden Gems: Lexatonia Tiles
Homeopathy Corner: An Introduction, Part 3
Cooking with Mimi: Budget Busting Egg-free Pancakes
Claire's Corner: No More Primary School for Us!
50c Indulgences: New Beginnings
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Trying to Beat the Heat in the Patch
From Last Month: Yeast and Wheat-Free
This Month's Help Request: Outdoor Makeover
Goodbye For Now

Hello,

How are you going? I hope you are having a lovely February. Things have been very busy in Simple Savings land. This month we have been flat out moving into our new office/warehouse. Wow! Can you believe it! After ten years of running Simple Savings from the corner of our lounge or spare bedroom, we finally have an office! And, the kids now have two bedrooms between the four of them; a boys' room and a girls' room. They are in heaven!

This month our focus is on budgeting and we have been working with our favourite budgeting expert, David Wright from Simply Budgets. I really enjoy working with David and I have been able to wrangle some great discounts on his budgeting software for our members. His software costs $127 on his site, but he is allowing us to sell it for just $97. And, I have even talked him into giving all our subscribers a free trial for 30 days. (See below.) How cool is that! :-)

I love being big enough that we can negotiate good prices for you :-) I also love your emails and Facebook messages. Here are some of this month's favourites:

"I was really happy to receive your first 2013 newsletter, as always it is full of wonderful, helpful information. It has started me on a new growth spurt. I was reading 'See it, Be it!' and started to think of the page I would set up. I picked saving money. For me that would mean not gambling on poker machines. I searched the web for a picture that would portray not gambling on poker machines - there were pictures of gamblers at poker machines but nothing that was not gambling. However, I found a book called 'Addiction by Design'. Well, I am now looking honestly at my gambling addiction and I have you to thank for that.

"I also read '2013 the year to...'. I really felt like something tasty to eat - ahhh a packet of chips, I thought. The article talked about substituting. I looked in my cupboard and there were some packets of noodles which had been there for a while unused. I opened one and crunched them up and put the sachet of flavour over them. Well, I can tell you they are a very satisfactory substitute for a packet of chips. I feel well satisfied. Again, thank you for a wonderful helpful newsletter." (Lois)

"I would like to take this opportunity to express my love for your site and the difference it has made to me and my family. Thank you. Each day I learn something from this site. I believe I also have become a better person because of all the giving and sharing that takes place in the Forum. You cannot but feel inspired and also not want to be involved in some way by support, suggestions or in helping others once you start reading the Forum. This is such a wonderful outreach for the whole community not only in the savings area. Thank you from a grateful subscriber." (Janet)

Have a great month!

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. FREE BUDGETING SOFTWARE TRIAL

We arranged a free 30 day trial of Simply Budgets software for all our subscribers. (PC only.) There are no strings attached to this trial. None at all. Here is the link:-

simplesavings.com.au/simplybudgets/download

If you have never seen this software before and you would like to see how it works, here is a video explaining the software on YouTube:-

youtube.com/watch?v=FOj5N5oEO5s&feature=share&list=UUiWgZQg6k3vYJqKXnuBZ11Q

(Important, you can only get the FREE trial from this newsletter. Elsewhere on our site you will be asked to pay for the trial. I had to twist David's arm behind his back to get him to agree to the free trial. ;-) )

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Just When You Thought it was Safe...

Sally and Pete were sharing a quiet glass of wine after dinner. Sally sighed contentedly. "You know what, Pete, have you noticed how much less we argue since we started using a budget?"

Pete harrumphed, "Oh no, we still argue Sally, just not about money!" Sally laughed, "Well that's true, but you know what I mean - all our bills are paid on time and we have even started SAVING money each month."

Pete agreed. "Yes, it certainly feels great to be able to control our cash and now we can finally afford that new bathroom."

"Hmmm," said Sally dreamily. "I'm thinking black slate tiles and gold fittings..."

"Oh no," said Pete, shaking his head. "It has to be white tiles and chrome!"

"Black and gold," growled Sally.

"White and chrome," grimaced Pete.

"Black and gold..."

2. February: Control Your Cash

Wow. How far has Sally come?! Once upon a time she and Pete would have been fighting over Sally's hidden credit card statements, or her latest shopping spree. Pete would be begging Sally to please, PLEASE stop buying things with money they didn't have, and Sally, bless her heart would have only looked more confused and desperate as Pete got more angry and frustrated.

Of course, Sally and Pete are not the only couple in the world ever to have fought about money. Money problems are after all the number one reason for divorce. Even Matt and I have been known to clash over the cash! One of the best arguments we ever had was about adding a verandah to our house. I claimed we had the money - Matt argued we didn't. As it turned out, Matt was right.

It wasn't easy to convince me - he had to prove it to me with hard numbers before I begrudgingly agreed with him - but that was the clincher. Matt KNEW we couldn't afford to build that verandah because he had all the numbers in black and white to prove it, whereas I was only guessing. When it comes to deciding when you should or shouldn't spend money it is important you base your decision on hard figures. Don't just guess!

In our case we were fortunate. Matt had our budget under control; he knew how much money we did or didn't have but many couples are not so lucky. Most just wing it - and that is a dangerous way to be. It's like Russian roulette - you just guess, go ahead blindly and hope for the best. You have no way of knowing if you have the money and whether that purchase is going to cause yourself a big headache in a month's time or six weeks' time - unless you have a budget.

So what we want you to do this month is to make your own budget. In the following article, our friend David Wright is going to explain how you can do your own budget. You can create one in an Excel spreadsheet, bits of paper or use his software, do whichever way is easier for you. But, make sure you do your budget!

3. How to Make a Basic Budget by David Wright

I am going to show you how to make a basic budget so you can predict, and pay for, all your bills months before they arrive. It is a bit like having a crystal ball for your finances so you will never be caught short, or accidentally run out of money again.

To do this I'm going to ask you to do the following -

Collect up all your bills from the last 12 months
Sort them into categories
Add up the numbers
Create a 12 monthly spending plan

Sounds complicated? You'll see it isn't at all. Sure, this part takes a little time but the pay-off will be well worth the effort because once you have finished you will have gained absolute control over your finances. No more just guessing! Let's get started.

STEP 1. Gather Your Expenses

First, grab all your bank statements and receipts from the past 12 months. Next, you need to begin sorting them into date order and separate categories, as described in step two:

STEP 2. Categorise Your Expenses

The easiest way to do this is to lay your statements and receipts out down your hallway in a long chronological line, month by month. Once you've done that, use highlighters to colour-code similar expenses, such as marking all the electricity payments with yellow, all the health insurance payments in blue and so on. You will immediately see that patterns emerge for your recurring expenses. Stand back at the end of your hallway and you'll be able to see your big bill months and your little bill months.

Once you have them all laid out and highlighted, you should notice that they fall into these three categories:

Regular Expenses:- Predictable expenses that fall within a yearly cycle, such as the electricity bill occurring every three months or the grocery bill occurring weekly.
Long Term Expenses:- Semi-Predictable expenses which fall on a much longer cycle. These will be things like buying a new refrigerator or replacing tyres on your car.
Unpredictable Expenses:- These are expenses that require 'Savings' to be put aside, such as paying for physio bills after a broken leg or paying for a daughter's wedding.

So now you need to separate all your bills into the three categories mentioned: Regular Expenses, Long Term Expenses and Unpredictable Expenses.

STEP 3. Add Up the Numbers

Each of these three expense categories will affect your budget in different ways. So we are going to treat them differently.

Regular Expenses

Your Regular Expenses are very consistent and happen several times per year. So it is easy to work out how much the item costs you each year by multiplying the amount with the number of bills you received. For example:

Electricity $200 x 4 times a year = $800/yr
Telephone $50 x 12 times a year = $600/yr
Petrol $80 x 52 times a year = $4160/yr
Home insurance $80 x 12 times a year = $960/yr

Once you have worked out what every item costs, add up the total cost of all your Regular Expenses for the year and then divide it by your number of pay days (52 for weekly, 26 for fortnightly and so on).

This figure is the amount of money you need to put aside each pay day to pay for your Regular Expenses.

For the sake of this exercise, let's say the amount we need to cover our Regular Expenses is $654 every pay day.

Semi-predictable Long Term Expenses

Some of the Long Term Expenses you will need to budget for can be found in last year's statements and receipts, but many will not be. So you're going to have to walk around your house and write down all the things that you will need to replace when they wear out or rust out. Think about how long a new one should last, think about how old your items are now and try to estimate when you think you will need to replace them and what each one will cost. Then work out how much you need to put aside each year for your future Long Term Expenses.

Do it like this example:-

Refrigerator replacement $1000 every 10 years = $100/yr
Washing machine replacement $1200 every 8 years = $150/yr

Add up the total cost of all your Long Term Expenses per year and once again divide by the number of pay days in a year. This figure is the amount of money you need to put aside each pay day to cover your Semi-Predictable Long Term Expenses.

For the sake of this exercise, let's say the amount we need to cover our Long Term Expenses is $80 per pay day.

Unpredictable Expenses

After you have planned for your Regular and Semi-Predictable Expenses, there is still a need to put money aside for expenses that are just not predictable at all, even if they are 'once in a lifetime' expenses. Doing this will pick up anything not covered already and will then give you a complete picture of your total household budget.

(Nominate a weekly amount for each item - some will be an estimate and some you can calculate fairly accurately.)

For example,
Daughter's wedding $10 a week = 10 x 52 = $520/yr
Retirement fund $50 a week = 50 x 52 = $2600/yr
Round the world holiday in two years' time $100 a week = 100 x 52 = $5200/yr

Add up the total amount needed per year. Now divide this by your number of pay days. This figure is the amount of money you need to put aside every pay day for your Unpredictable Expenses.

For the sake of this exercise, let's say the amount we need per pay to cover our Unpredictable Expenses is $180 per pay day.

Now, it is time to add all your categories together.

Regular Expenses - $654 per pay day
Long Term Expenses - $80 per pay day
Savings - $180 per pay day
Total required - $914 per pay day.

If you have done all this, when you get to this point you will know how much money you are supposed to put aside each pay to cover your bills into the future.

Perfect in theory, however, the biggest revelation for me was when I found there is no guarantee that doing what I have outlined above will ensure you will always be able to pay your bills when they are due!

I got really frustrated when I did all the calculations, worked out my budget and I still had bills arriving that I struggled to pay. I'd be tearing my hair out wondering what I had done wrong!

Bills would come and I would find myself short of money.

I had to sit down and really think about what was going wrong. And then I worked it out. The answer was that I had not done anything wrong; I had just not quite done enough right. There was one more piece to the puzzle! The job was not quite finished off and I set about working out the perfect system to get it right!

I had done a two dimensional budget. It balanced Income and Expenses perfectly! What I went on to discover was the need for a three dimensional budget which not only looked at ins and outs but also brought timing into the plan. That's when we went from a financially struggling family to a low-money-stress family!

Taking Shortcuts

When I first started this 'three dimensional' budgeting I did it all on bits of paper using a calculator and a calendar. I'll explain how to use the calendar next month. It worked so well I got VERY excited, even if it did take me a lot of time. It made such a difference I just wanted to tell everyone about what I had discovered.

I eventually made software to speed up the process and do the calculations and I started doing budgets for other people who were suffering the same way I had been. I changed many people's lives for the better.

If you would like to trial my budgeting software, Fiona has harassed me into letting her give you a 30 day trial for free. Here is a link to the software:

simplesavings.com.au/simplybudgets/download

(If you want the trial for free, hang on to this link. If you try to get the trial from David's site or from our Ye Olde Shoppe both will try to charge you.)

4. Best of the Vault: Best Budget Bits

There are so many ways to help you control your cash! The Vault is full of fantastic ideas to help you keep your money in your pocket - some are clever, some are cool and some are just downright kooky! Here are a few to get you started:

A better way to budget

We have learned how to save $372 per fortnight, or almost $10,000 a year, on our living costs!

Since having a baby, I have been dipping into our re-draw from our home loan for the last three years. On top of my partner's salary, we have spent about $30,000 extra since our baby was born. Because our savings were dwindling, I had to do something about it. We were using EFTPOS to buy everything and usually by mid-fortnight, we had spent our salary and then started using the re-draw facility.

I decided to draw up a budget. The first thing we did was to open three bank accounts: a savings, bills and a pay account. I used a free budget manager from www.alphalink.com.au/~sergeb/smart-budget.html to help so that I could see the 'big picture' of where our money was going.

To make it easier, I over-budgeted our expenses. This is our weekly budget:

$150 food
$20 each pocket money
$50 weekend money (shared)
$55 petrol (two cars)

Each pay day I divide the money up and put it into labelled jars. If we don't use all of the allotted money, I take it back and put it into the savings jar.

I also used the budget planner to calculate all our bills, including rates and mortgages, electricity, gas, registrations and insurances, so that we put money away each fortnight. Expenses like gifts, clothes, postage and other sundries have to come out of our food budget.

Simple Savings provides very innovative ways to save on these expenses. I looked around and found a butcher's shop that was cheap with staple foods where I now buy meat ($20 a fortnight) eggs ($1.00 per dozen) and bread ($2.00 for three loaves). I have found a cheap fruit and vegetable shop, where I am buying crates of apples ($8.50) and 10kg bags of carrots ($5.00) to juice instead of buying juice.

Since doing this, we feel like we have more money, more fresh food and we are not broke a week later - plus we've been saving $372 EVERY fortnight, which equates to $9672 a year!

Contributed by: Elizabeth

Stick to a budget night and reap the benefits

By doing my budget on my payday every second Friday I have found that I have stopped overspending or impulse buying because the money is already allocated. My budget is already drawn up so as soon as my money goes into the bank I immediately transfer any money for savings into my savings account (bonus interest of course) and I pay as many bills online as I can. Then I subtract my direct debits (mortgage, life insurance, car insurance) from my balance and work out exactly how much money I have left to physically take out of the bank. This way I only use the ATM once a fortnight, saving on fees, and the only money I have is the cash in my hand. With that cash I disburse it to bills which can't be paid online, gifts, whatever is due that fortnight and all I have left then is my pocket money, which I also divide up into different amounts for different outings I have planned for that fortnight. This only works if you do your budget the very day you get paid, otherwise it is easy to spend money without thinking about where it's coming from and finding it later isn't easy.

Contributed by: Elisa Simpson

Some brilliant, and timely, budget advice

Have money, will spend. Only problem was, we were spending too much!

My husband and I wanted to make major renovations to our home, so I went back to work. We had been doing just fine on his income but the extra money I was making disappeared into thin air. We are fortunate to have free daycare, courtesy of my mother-in-law, so that didn't explain the mystery of my missing money! What we were doing, quite simply, was spending too much of that extra income. Time for action.

First, I opened a separate bank account and had my wages transferred into it. The interest rate is not that flash but the fees are low.

I set up an Excel workbook with a calendar style budget. I can see how much money is coming in and going out on any given day, and I include estimates of upcoming bills. I always make the estimate slightly more than the previous bill. If the new bill is less, it's a bonus.

I keep an inventory of what is in my pantry and write a proper shopping list so I don't buy what I don't need.

My Excel workbook also includes a price list of everything we buy so when I go shopping I know exactly how much it should cost me. This helps me keep to my budget and if it goes over I see if there is something we can do without for another couple of weeks.

I regularly have a big cooking day when I make enough meals to last three weeks. We no longer buy takeaway as there is always something quick and easy in the freezer. My goal is to eventually cook enough meals to last for four weeks. I'm getting there!

I take snacks and lunches to work. I buy a loaf of raisin toast for $4.00, stick it in the freezer and take two slices to work each day. Better than paying $3.00 for a couple of slices in a cafe. Lunch can be tasty leftovers or a sandwich from home. Snacks consist of fruit and nuts and to satisfy that afternoon chocolate craving, I buy a 'fun size' packet of Milky Way bars. With 20 bars in each pack, this is much better value.

Instead of buying new shoes, I have found a place that will re-sole my favourite shoes for $6.00.

We are now saving my entire pay packet and a fair chunk of my husband's as well. Our renovation dream is much closer to becoming a reality.

Contributed by: Irene Knezovic

No more stress with budgeting

My husband hates not being able to spend money, which has made saving a bit tricky! I was stressing about money but then I discovered Simple Savings and began to find ways to get on top of our budget.

Now I put his petrol and spending money in an account that is just for him. Another account, which we both access, pays all the weekly expenses and a third account is not touched for anything but the bills. As I do all the banking, I then go through at the end of the week and transfer any leftovers into the 'sealed' account. It's a bit fiddly but it removes him from temptation and keeps the budget running smoothly.

Contributed by: Bernadette S.

Old fashioned price tags help keep budget on track

We are saving literally hundreds of dollars a month by putting price tags on all our food. Until we had our baby nine months ago my husband and I really had no budget. We'd just buy things as we needed/wanted and would visit the supermarket numerous times a week. I wanted to be a stay at home mum to our daughter but on one income this was proving really tough. We sat down to work out where all our 'disposable' income was going and we realised we were spending an extreme amount of money on food. My husband liked to cook adventurous meals that included countless extravagant ingredients and we were spending around $200-$250 a week for just the two of us!

So we decided to focus on how much money we spent on each meal. I started writing the cost of each item on the jar, container or tin when we brought it home from the supermarket and it was quite incredible how much of an effect this had on our spending habits. Seeing the dollar signs on every item that we were cooking with helped us recognise the bargains at the supermarket and get the best deals available. We then set a dollar limit for each meal of $5.00 for breakfast, $8.00 for lunch and $15 for dinner. Each week we challenged ourselves to reduce the cost of each meal by a dollar and are now managing on around $2.00 for breakfast, $2.00 lunch and often under $5.00 for dinner. It also makes meals more interesting as we're always looking for an ingredient that fits inside our budget. Once a week we have a 'Friday Night Feast' where we don't stick to the minimum spend, yet we still find ourselves trying to make the most cost-effective meal!

Now we're buying less tinned and pre-prepared food, we've stopped buying chips, biscuits, desserts and pasta and are making our own wherever we can. We buy meat every second week and if we run out we just supplement with beans and legumes. Now we can survive on under $150 one week and $100 the next. We've found we're now cost cutting in every aspect of our lives and have saved $400 in the last fortnight alone.

Contributed by: Sally McQuillan

Here are a few more ideas for our valued Vault members:

Hold on to your cash with Mojo's help! Contributed by: fatbottomedgirl

Stay within food budget, aisle by aisle Contributed by: Faye June

The 'Better You' Budget Contributed by: Heather F

5. Best Members' Blog: Paper Days and the Pledge

This month's winner is Faye for her blog on getting organised and saving money!

I did something that I've been putting off for far too long yesterday - I had a paper day.

It took me a whole day but I managed to achieve SO much! For example, I made a 25% saving on my gas and light bills combined. I rolled three superannuation funds into one. I re-activated my ING account and set it up for my emergency fund... I was on a roll!

I also went to the library today and borrowed a home energy audit kit. I have an LED LCD HD 3D TV on order from Castle Hampers so until the end of the year I will still be using my old televisions with set top boxes. I think they will give me the biggest shocks in my energy audit.

I also read some time ago that anything with an element is brutal for energy consumption. So when my toaster died I just didn't replace it and now use the griller on the gas stove. I recently cut all my hair off and no longer use a dryer or straightener either.

So that leaves the kettle. Every morning I have a couple of cups of tea and then a coffee, all in fairly quick succession. That's a fair bit of boiling (element) time. So I'm taking The Pledge. I'm going to fill the kettle full (instead of just one cup's worth) and put it in the thermos. I'm looking forward to seeing if it makes a difference. I started doing this once before, but petered out but this time I'm deadly serious!'

Congratulations Faye on getting organised and making changes!

To read any of our members' blogs, click here

6. Best of the Forum: Stash That Cash!

We are continually amazed by the huge numbers of kind, helpful and resourceful members who make up our fantastic Forum community. If you have a problem, someone will have an answer! And when it comes to money - careful, stand back - you are going to get stampeded with information and support! If it's one thing our members do well, it is supporting each other, so this month we'd like to highlight a few of our favourite long term savings threads - it is never too late to join in.

$140,000 mortgage down to $0 in 12 months #14

It is ALL HAPPENING in Freedom's thread and to borrow one of her sayings, 'When one little thought turns wild, magic can happen :)'
read more...

2013: The lowest we can go #3

Can you hear the squealing? That is the sound of dollars begging for mercy as this amazing group and their fearless leader s-t-r-e-t-c-h them to breaking point!
read more...

Feb '13: Babysteps mortgage, CC and savings challenge

Another friendly and fantastic group of Financial Freedom Fighters who strive to make every dollar count.
read more...

Babysteps with Dave Ramsey #13

This series of threads kicked off in 2010 and is still going strong!
read more...

7. Hidden Gems: Lexatonia Tiles

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members source the best deals in their area. This month's Hidden Gem is Lexatonia Tiles, Sydney as nominated by Simmy.

Lexatonia is a family run business specialising in tiles but we used them for most of our bathroom renovation. They have a huge (almost overwhelming!) range of tiles, but if you don't find one you like they can order in pretty much anything. They also order by the metre rather than the box so you can order as little or as much as you like without having to pay for a whole lot of extras you don't need.

The service is wonderful. They will order in anything for you from their bathroom suppliers and find the best price they can. They price matched a few things for us and threw in a couple of upgrades for free too. I must have been in there ten times over a fortnight and they were always helpful and understanding of my limited renovation knowledge! If you tell them your approximate budget they will work hard to find a solution within that range.

Where: 6/2 Abbott Road, Seven Hills, NSW
Contact: (02) 9674 1944

Well done Simmy on locating such a fantastic hidden gem and thanks so much for sharing.

8. Homeopathy Corner: An Introduction, Part 3

Sometimes I wonder where my family would be today without homeopathic remedies and without Fran. And it is not a nice thought. Fran has helped us through some very difficult and worrying health episodes. However, so many people still do not understand homeopathy or how it can help them and that is really sad. So I am very pleased that Fran is doing her best to help as many people as possible. She really is worth her weight in gold. And then some!

This month Fran is unraveling some of the mysteries of homeopathy by explaining all the different forms remedies come in and how frequently you should give remedies. Here is a link to this month's article:-

homeopathyplus.com.au/homeopathy-made-simple-how-would-you-like-your-remedy-part-3

Thank you Fran!

9. Cooking with Mimi: Budget Busting Egg-Free Pancakes

It's the end of the school holidays, which means it's the start of the school term. The bank account is empty courtesy of Santa and the school uniform shop and the kids still want a treat. Hells bells, as my Aunty Myrtle used to say!

When I was a kid, pancakes were the ultimate Mother Hubbard meal. You know the one where she looks in her cupboard and it's bare but she still has to feed herself and the dog and goodness knows who else? That was our place on weekends. In fact, that's still our place, but thanks to my humble childhood, I still know how to rustle up something from nothing.

I've actually managed to trump the family dynasty's secret budget busting pancake recipe though, by eliminating the need for an egg. One egg + flour + oil + a little milk and sugar used to be the recipe of choice for us, and probably for you too.

No egg = no yummy pancakes today.

But with the simple addition of some white vinegar and a little rest for the batter, we can now have pancakes even without an egg in our Mother Hubbard's cupboard.

Here's how:

Budget Busting Pancakes

1 1/2 cups plain flour (GF flour works well too!)
2 tbsp milk powder
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp oil or melted butter or margarine
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence or vanilla extract

You'll also need a non-stick pan, a plate to hold your cooked pancakes, cooking spray or a little butter, oil or margarine, and a spatula. Of course honey, maple syrup, fruit and yoghurt or ice cream and caramel sauce are all an excellent idea for satisfying pancake consumption too. Our favourite used to be a little butter whipped in a bowl with honey to sweeten it, so steal our idea if you wish. It's certainly a frugal option!

A much neglected secret I learned at my grandmother's knee on the subject of perfect pancakes, is to have a thin, neat edged spatula with which to flip them. A metal one is best. Basically, dodgy plastic egg flip thingy with rough forward edge = rough looking pancakes with nasty blobby edge. And one more? Only cook one neat pancake at a time. Do not be tempted to try and fit three in the pan. It's difficult to flip 'em, and it just gets messy.

Now, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a hollow in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix well with a whisk until smooth.

Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes. You'll notice bubbles forming on the surface. Do not be tempted to stir the batter again. You'll be scooping it straight into your hot pan, fluffy air bubbles intact.

Heat a non-stick pan over a medium-high hotplate and spray it liberally with cooking spray or just a smidge of oil or butter. Honestly, you don't want them to 'fry' as such. The dryer the surface of the pan, the better. If you don't have spray oil, melt a little butter or margarine in the pan, then remove it from the heat and wipe the melted butter away with a paper towel. That's how little you need. And that pan has to be nice and hot initially, but you'll be turning it down to about 2/3 of full power after the first pancake bites the dust.

Accept that the first pancake, for reasons only known to the cosmos, will always fall into the aforementioned dodgy category. If you can get a picture perfect pancake on the first go, I want to hear about it. I think it's the universe's way of keeping us humble...he-he!

Take a large serving spoon or 1/3 cup measuring cup and scoop it full of bubbly batter. Plop the batter into the middle of your hot, lightly greased pan, and spread it quickly with the back of the spoon or the edge of the measuring cup, into a nice, even circle.

Watch for the edges of your pancake to cook and rise slightly and for bubbles to form on the surface. Do not try to flip your pancake until a nice firm edge has formed or you'll end up with aliens, not pancakes. Slide your lovely thin spatula under one edge of the pancake and if it lifts easily with no ensuing dribbles messing up your neat circle, it's ready to flip. At this stage, your pancake is pretty much done, and you're just browning the other side, so give it about thirty seconds, lift it to check for a nice golden colour and slide it onto a waiting plate.

Turn the hotplate down to 2/3 full heat.

Continue with the rest of your batter, cleaning the edge of your spatula thoroughly after flipping each pancake. It's a simple thing that really makes a difference.

Keep cooking and stacking those pancakes till the batter is all used. This quantity makes 6-10 decent sized pancakes, so enough for one good pancake eating session, whether for two big kids or 10 littlies.

Pat yourself on the back for being such a great parent. Kids fed, takeaway visit averted, happy tummies... it doesn't get much better than that!

You can discover more of Mimi's yummy creations in our Members' Blog area.

10. Claire's Corner: No More Primary School For Us!

So, here we are one month in to the New Year... last month I resolved to achieve three things this year: lose weight, pay off the credit cards and get the bathroom sorted. And I've made a good start, well... a start of sorts! I've signed myself up with MyFitnessPal (thanks to a member suggestion some time back!). It's a great little site that helps you track your calories and help you think twice about what you're eating. I don't know if I've actually lost any weight because we don't have any scales, but I have definitely been more controlled with my eating. Think I'll pop up to the doctor tomorrow and use their scales and see what the number is! I've also transferred my credit card debt onto a lower interest card (1.99%) and have budgeted to pay it off over the next six months. And as far as the bathroom goes, we've planned to buy what we need over the next two months and do the bulk of the work over Easter. So I guess all the planning is there... just need to make it all happen!

With just a few days until the kids are back at school, my youngest is preparing for her first day at intermediate - she's a bundle of nerves! I'm working hard to help her feel relaxed about it, but I guess it's just one of those things that she'll have to go through. I'm pretty sure she'll come home after her first day feeling happy. With any luck she'll have a few friends from primary school in her class and her teacher will be nice! Deep down, I'm just as nervous as she is! We were lucky to have a wonderful primary school that we loved, so it's a bit of an adjustment. I admit that I shed a few tears on her last day, I feel like we've entered into a new era as a family - we no longer have primary school-aged kids!

Meanwhile, Miss 14 has morphed into a fully-fledged teenager over the holidays. She now stays awake most of the night and sleeps all day. When she does emerge, she's either hungry, bored, grumpy or tired... or an unpleasant combination of all of the above! Just before Christmas, she was using my laptop when she 'accidentally' (read - carelessly!), walloped it into the wall while carrying it - decimating the delicate screen! She was extremely sorry and spent a few very anxious hours worrying about how I'd react when I got home. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled - I use my computer for work every day, so it was a scary feeling not to be able to use it!

I had been considering upgrading, so I decided to take advantage of a very good deal at The Good Guys and got myself a newbie (my Christmas pressie to myself I guess!). She then paid to have the screen repaired on the broken one, and now has it for herself. The upside is that I no longer have to put up with her wanting to use mine all the time, the downside is that she now uses hers ALL the time! She's back at school in a week, so I've decided to start enforcing limits now so that she will be back into a good sleeping routine when school starts... this will be easier said than done!

So I have one child entering her intermediate years, one in the midst of teenage-dom and one who is becoming an adult - of sorts! My eldest turned 19 on Christmas Eve, it staggers me how quickly time goes by - everyone tells you when they are babies that they grow up fast, but you don't believe it until it happens before your very eyes! Mr 19 has been labouring for the past four or five months building fences, but he's just applied to join the Navy (after much deliberation over which one of the forces he'd go for). He has the prerequisites, so now it's just a matter of passing the intake tests. He's just waiting to hear back about the date, but he's as keen as mustard to get in so that's a good start!

I'm now off to do some internet searching for budget bathroomware, update MyFitnessPal and switch off madam's computer!

For this month, I've chosen a quote that touches on the topic of kids growing up... seems to be on my mind a fair bit this month!

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."
- Angela Schwindt

You can read more of Claire's warm and wonderful words in our Members' Blog area.

11. 50c Indulgence: New Beginnings

Our Indulgences under 50c thread started the year with the theme of 'New Beginnings'. Along with the Simple Savings Calendar theme of 'See it, Be it' we went about setting our intentions for the New Year and hopefully, for the whole year ahead!

I have used the tips in the Calendar and they really work! For example, if you are trying to give something up, you need to replace it with something else. Another great idea is to tell other people so you get some support for the changes or new habits you are trying to create. In the thread we have shared and encouraged each other as we have worked our way into the year. Telling everyone my intentions has really worked for me and the support has been wonderful!

A beautiful way to keep your goals in mind is to make a vision board. As was discussed on the forum this is a brilliant way to keep reminding yourself of your goals. I keep several vision boards and had a review and update for the new year. I had to really think about my goals and my wish list this year. Amazingly there is nothing I really want except time with my family and some little holidays with my husband. So my updates include the cutest caravan and happy gatherings, picnic baskets and the ocean. From past experience I will most likely find all these things come into my life as the year goes on.

My other vision boards are to give me joy and inspiration every day. I want to keep the things I adore and treasure somewhere I can see them all the time. The one in my bedroom has photos of the girls when they were little, love letters they wrote me, flowers and trinkets. It makes me smile every day. I have another of beautiful times with my husband, our wedding and concert tickets we have been to and so on. They really bring me joy every day and add a great deal of gratitude to my life as I am reminded how lucky I am. Positive images and thoughts have to be good for us!

Another form of vision board for me is my yearly diary. My daughter makes it for me by covering a diary with pictures of things she knows I love. Every night when I write in my diary I see all these lovely things that are somehow personal to me. It's a very easy and inexpensive treat and making one as a gift is a beautiful idea! For example, horse pictures for the little girl who loves horses or dinosaurs for a little boy.

Scrap booking or having a photo album just to collect images of things you love and inspire you soon creates a sort of inspiration file. I started these when I was 12 and when I look back through them I see the life I have is the one I cut and pasted for so many years! Looking through my current one is total therapy. My heart just sings seeing so many lovely things in one place! This is a great project for teenagers to help them focus on the life ahead of them and feel excited about it.

So as you make your plans for the year, use reminders to help you reach your goals. Helen and I have great plans for a thread each month that will help us achieve those goals. Our next thread will help by looking after our health AND saving money at the same time so come and join us!

Annabel

You can drop in and join Annabel, Helen and the Under 50c Army here: Heaven scent... under 50 cent indulgences February 2013

12. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Trying to Beat the Heat in the Patch

Saving plants from the heat

With the heat wave that some parts of Australia have had, I thought I might share with you how we are trying to minimise its effects on the plants in our patch.

We are expecting six days of 35-40°C temperatures so hopefully the wicking beds will provide enough moisture to keep most of our plants well hydrated. We have a number of plants in pots; some are irrigated using Wetpots, while others are relying on us to keep the water up to them on a regular basis. All of these will be feeling the sting from the heat so, in an attempt to keep some water up to them, I have placed a few in trays. Keeping pots in trays with a centimetre or two of water in the bottom is a great way to ensure that the plants have access to water. It is best not to leave them in direct sunlight as the water will evaporate quickly.

All our potted plants will be getting a small watering every morning before the heat sets in. The wicking beds will be filled on the Monday afternoon (last 30°C day) and the beds will get a bit of a hosing so the mulch can soak up some moisture as well. They will be checked again on Wednesday and Friday evenings to see if they need a top up. Some valued plants will be given a spot water if needed but I am prepared to lose a few of the older or poor performing ones. My biggest concern will be the seedlings that I am nurturing in the trays.

One idea that might help vulnerable plants is the use of a plastic bottle with a small pin size hole in the base.

The water will slowly drip out ensuring that the plants around it receive a little moisture during the day. I have seen bottles like these at the local community garden used to keep potato plants moist during times of extreme heat.

Shade is something that will also help your plants survive the heat. We are lucky in that we have the shade house but it isn't doing the best it could in some areas.

The capsicums under the 30% cloth are already showing signs of 'sunburn' so we will be adding some 50% cloth over the top just to make sure we don't lose any more. There are a few different ways to shade plants using things you may have on hand. A portable pergola would make a fantastic shade structure that could be situated over a garden bed or two. A sheet tied to a few stakes or to the side of a building would make a great cover for plants. An outdoor table (lay a cloth over the top if glass) or even outdoor chairs would be good enough to give vulnerable short plants a bit of cover from the harsh sun. Moving pots under the eaves of the house, a large tree or veranda would also decrease the plants' stress levels. I hope that may give a few ideas on how to help plants withstand heat over a hot period.

Chilli paste from the patch

We have managed to save all the chilli crop from the fruit fly this year (does a joyful jig) so I decided that the first lot would be used to make up an Asian-style chilli paste. Most of the ingredients came from our patch with the galangal, lemongrass, lime rind and leaves all being stored in the freezer from the last harvests. Only the coconut vinegar and sugar came from the shops **: )»** I must also thank Joy for sharing her recipe with me and while I didn't follow it to the 'T' I used it as a portion guide.

Sambal Oelek

500g chillies
300g galangal (ginger would work just as well)
300g garlic
4 stalks of lemongrass, chopped
2 tbsp grated lime skin
Small handfull of Kaffir lime leaves
350ml coconut vinegar
200g rapadura sugar

Place all ingredients except for the sugar and vinegar into a food processor. Slowly add the vinegar while processing on high until all ingredients become a paste.

Bring the paste to the boil in a saucepan. Slowly pour sugar in and stir until dissolved.

Reduce heat and let the paste simmer for five minutes.

This made enough to fill three sterilised pint/500ml jars, two of which were added to a hot water bath for 10 minutes so they could be stored for later use or used as gifts for friends. I must say that I was very pleased with the flavour and I am still hanging out to try it with some locally farmed black tiger prawns.

I ♥ my Asian curries. **: )»**

Read more of Rob Bob's garden blogs in our Members' Blog area.

13. From Last Month: Yeast and Wheat-Free

Last month Sue Izard emailed us about yeast and wheat-free recipes. She said:

"My daughter has just been told she needs to spend a few months yeast and wheat-free to give her adrenal glands time to recover from a whole range of foods they were reacting to. I've looked in the Vault but most of the dietary info is about gluten-free foods. Does anyone have any ideas about yeast-free?"

We got some fantastic ideas for Sue - thank you for sharing your wisdom! Here are some of our favourite replies:

Learning to live yeast-free

Many years ago my elderly dad was advised to eat a yeast-free diet to treat a skin problem. He was overwhelmed by the long lists of food he should avoid. However, I went online and found some good ideas.

Firstly we wrote down his current diet. Next we substituted the things he normally ate with yeast-free options. The biggest initial challenge was bread but he substituted oat porridge for toast; rice cakes, crackers or crispbread for sandwiches and we found lots of yeast-free snacks. Vegemite had to go but he was happy to avoid it along with beer and wine in order to recover. When in doubt he ate a variety of fresh meat or fish with lots of fresh or frozen vegetables (except mushrooms and olives) and tea with milk but no sugar.

Most difficult of all was cheese which he loved. However, as his skin cleared he felt it was worth it and has now developed a new appreciation for nuts like almonds, cashews, macadamias, pecans and walnuts.

Contributed by: Marg Mansfield

Spelt bread may suit if yeast-free

If you're on a yeast-free diet, here are a few products that I have found to be very good. Orgran have a good range of yeast and wheat-free products - some are available in the supermarket and others can be bought from organic shops. I like their gravy mix, especially when mixed with meat juices. I also use Healthybake or Ancient Grains spelt bread. This uses a sourdough base so it has a small amount of natural yeast but less than regular bread. They also do breads made with other flours such as rye.

For more good ideas and yeast-free recipes, visit www.theyeastdiet.com.

Contributed by: Lesley Smith

What to avoid/enjoy if you're yeast-free

If you're on a yeast-free diet, here are a few tips on what to avoid and what to enjoy:

Avoid gluten-free breads as these are usually still baked with yeast.
Avoid soy sauce on sushi as the sauce is fermented.
Avoid Marmite or Vegemite as these both have yeast in them.
Avoid fermented drinks like ginger beer.
Avoid having a lot of sugar as this can cause an overgrowth of yeast. This includes dried fruit, fruit juice and pasta sauces.
Enjoy plenty of rice, quinoa and potatoes.
Enjoy meat, fish and chicken.
Enjoy a few pieces of fresh fruit each day, but not too much as it is high in sugar.
Enjoy plenty of fresh vegies each day.

Contributed by: Belinda Lansley

Tricks to living yeast-free

I had to live yeast and sugar-free for about six months when I was in my thirties. There were two key tricks for me - the first was to focus principally on eating meat and vegetables. I ate a lot of meat and salad during summer, then as winter came I ate a lot of soup (by cooking up lots of vegies in a pot with stock or water plus rice or barley). This was followed by grilled fish, chops or steak and potatoes or rice of all kinds (risotto makes a nice change) with cooked vegies.

The second trick was to make social time with friends that involved something other than food (such as a movie, an art gallery or park). This helped me to avoid the foods I wasn't meant to eat!

I also explored vegetable patties with nut butters as the thickener and fish patties made in the food processor (egg holds them together). I delved deep into Asian food styles (which use no wheat and no yeast) and I explored wheat alternatives such as oats for biscuits and so on. For breakfast I feasted on smoothies, home-made bircher muesli (soaked oats, mashed banana, honey and milk, mixed up and topped with fresh fruit) and in winter I made fresh porridge every day. The main thing was to be prepared so that I was not caught hungry and tempted to eat 'off plan'.

Contributed by: Jo Verity

Super quick yeast-free bread recipes

For a quick yeast-free bread fix, here are a few helpful recipes:

Wraps

1 egg
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp LSA or ground almonds
1/2 tsp baking powder
Salt and pepper to season

Mix all ingredients well and spread onto a flat dinner plate. Microwave for about three minutes. Remove carefully, cool and fill. This recipe can also be used in a waffle maker to make 1-2 waffles.

Nut & Seed Bread

1 egg
3 tbsp almond meal or LSA
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp nut butter
1 tbsp linseed

Mix all ingredients together and pour onto greased bread and butter plate. Microwave for 90 seconds. Remove from plate and cool. Slice carefully to make two thin slices.

Mugmuffin

1 egg
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp milk
3 tbsp almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Mix all ingredients well in cup or mug and microwave for 90 seconds. If using a mug it will rise over the mug but settle down when cooked. This recipe works best in a medium to large tea cup. Change flavour as desired.

Contributed by: Janice Giddy

Menu planning key to special diets

When my son was reacting to wheat, gluten and numerous other things, my naturopath suggested that I base most of his meals around protein, fruits and vegies, and rice (instead of pasta and breads). It's actually really easy to do and just requires a menu plan that is followed to the letter.

For example, breakfast was a basic omelette made with egg, water, corn or peas, or leftover shredded chicken with a little cheese. For lunches some ideas include: home-made kid-friendly fried rice, chicken or boiled eggs, tinned tuna with vegie sticks and home-made beetroot dip and chicken and corn soup with rice instead of noodles in.

Dinner was the most simple of all and included things like chicken, pork or fish with salad or vegies with mash or home-made wedges. Snacks were always yoghurt and fruit. Home-made frozen yoghurt popsicles were great for dessert, just mix and freeze mixed berries with any flavoured yoghurt and add some honey. And for smoothies, mix yoghurt, milk, a banana and a little honey and cinnamon.

Contributed by: Brooke

Yeast substitute for everyday baking

Here's a quick and useful tip if you're on a yeast-free diet... use equal parts lemon juice and baking soda as a yeast substitute in everyday recipes! You can still cook your regular meals and stay yeast-free. Just make sure you add them last so they work properly.

Contributed by: Squishy Squishy

Home-made yeast-free pan-fried bread

It can be hard going without sandwiches when you're yeast-free but there are some great alternatives such as corn cakes, rice crackers, scones, pancakes and pikelets made with some of the alternative flours like buckwheat that are all yummo!

Many gluten-free flours (which also mean wheat-free) are now superior to what they used to be. As a treat to die for, try Melinda's Heavenly Chocolate Fudge Brownie packet mix - honestly, it lives up to its name! I found it at Coles.

However, my favourite is pan-fried bread, especially with home-made soup. Mix up assorted flour (go easy on the rice flour as it makes it gluggy, I always include a good portion of buckwheat) with an egg, some dairy (yoghurt makes it airy, I like to use ricotta or cottage cheese myself), a grated carrot (optional) and enough water to make a dough consistency. If you're not using a self-raising flour, use a raising agent. For a savoury version, add mixed herbs, grated vegetables and fresh pepper. Or if you like a sweet version, use grated fruit or sultanas. Avoid honey though as it will make it burn.

Cook in a hot frying pan that can be covered. I use olive oil for savoury breads and butter for sweet. Put in the mix and press evenly. Cover with the lid, turn the heat down a quarter and wait about five minutes. Turn the heat down another quarter and turn bread over. Wait another five minutes then turn the heat down to low and give it a few minutes each side until you get a hollow sound when you tap the bread with your knuckles. If you like a crustier finish, leave the lid off when you turn the heat down to low. I find you get a better loaf if you do smaller ones than a large one. It is a bit of trial and error to get it right but from then on it is easy. Cut into wedges to serve.

Contributed by: Jacki Perry

Yeast-free bread options

If you need to be on a yeast-free diet, my tip is to be careful as there is often yeast 'hidden' in many sauces, flavourings and sandwich spreads.

There are several yeast-free breads available (they taste best toasted or in a sandwich press). They are quite expensive so I buy a loaf and freeze it in two-slice packs as it's very difficult to separate the pieces if you freeze it as a whole loaf.

There are several yeast-free options for wrap-style bread including mountain bread. I also buy roti bread from my local fruit shop which is very cheap. Plain potato chips and plain corn chips (without flavouring) are yeast-free. You can also buy yeast-free pizza bases in Coles and Woolies and make your own pizzas.

For a yummy savory treat, I mix tinned tuna, shallots, chopped cherry tomatoes and grated cheese and spoon them into Yorkshire pudding cases from Aldi. You then bake them in the oven until the cheese turns a golden brown. Yum!

Contributed by: Sally H

14. This Month's Help Request: Outdoor Makeover

N. Carson has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"After six years of indoor renovation, we are finally ready to begin on the outdoors! The prospect of ripping up 4x32m of concrete driveway and replacing it with bitumen, digging out 35sqm of unwanted dirt in the backyard, erecting a front brick fence, building a deck and also general landscaping is extremely daunting - and costly! Any advice regarding cost-effective concrete demolition, skip hire, dirt removal or waste disposal - and also outdoor renovation advice would be incredibly appreciated!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share, please send them in to us here.

15. Goodbye For Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for February 2013 and we hope you have enjoyed it and have been inspired by all the money saving tips. Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say, 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

February 2015 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - February 2015

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: How Nude Are You?
February: Nudity Quiz
Best of the Vault: Fresh is Best
Best of the Forum: Back to Nature!
Best Members' Blog: Being Organised Saves Thousands
Mimi: Roasted Vegetable Salad With Spicy Sausage and Honey Mustard Dressing
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Crook Plants and a Wander Through the Patch
Penny Wise: Going it Alone
From Last Month: Recipes Using Non-Perishable Ingredients
This Month's Help Request: Secret Linen Business!

Hello!

We hope you had a fantastic January sourcing great local deals. Matt and I worked out we were still very happy with our local grocer and butcher but it was good to see what others had to offer. This month we're asking a very personal question about how 'nude' you are - you'll have to read on to find out more! We also say goodbye to Penny Wise/Jackie Gower in this newsletter and we wish her all the best. Thank you, Jackie!

I always love hearing your savings ideas and stories and tips! Here are some of my favourites this month:

"I joined Simple Savings not quite sure what to expect - I'd never been on a forum before! I was so surprised to see how friendly everyone was, and how helpful. I've already saved money on my bills and am about to do my first $21 Challenge. Thank you, Simple Savings - I'm glad I took the plunge and joined." (Lynette)

"Hi Fiona and Matt. I just wanted to thank you for your fantastic website - my daughter may have Facebook, but I have Simple Savings!" (Trudy)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. We need to find homes for lots of $21 Challenge Books! $5 each, plus postage!

P.P.S.S. We have a new public Facebook Group. Check it out!

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: How Nude Are You?

Hanna sipped her coffee at her desk while she scrolled through her emails. She yelped and put her coffee down quickly. "Sally? Did you just send me an email?" she asked over the desk.

Sally fought to keep a straight face. "Yep. It was from me." Hanna looked at her and whispered worriedly, "It has the word 'nudity' in the subject line. Are you sure it's safe to open?" Sally rolled her eyes - she loved getting one up on Hanna and this time she had her! "Of course it's safe. And, you're going to like it!"

Hanna gulped... she knew she wasn't going to like it! Sally was sitting right next to her now and she couldn't get out of this one. She clicked the link and sighed, "It's about food?!"

2. February: Nudity Quiz

The Nudity Test!

Have you ever wondered how nude you are? And I don't mean whether or not you have clothes on. I mean how nude your diet is. Well, it is time to find out.

From looking at people's different, shopping, spending and eating habits we have observed there are four levels of food nudity. We based these levels on the types of clothes the food is wearing. To help people evaluate their own habits and have a bit of fun, we have put together a little Nudity Quiz.

But first let's start by looking at the four levels of nudity. They are:

Tarted Up

You've heard the expression, 'mutton dressed up as lamb'? That pretty much sums up Tarted Up food. It's a subterfuge. Tarted Up food is so artificial and over-packaged that the original ingredients are no longer recognisable and you can't really tell what's on the inside. The Tarted Up diet consists of very little or no nude food. Food is often tinned, frozen or packet products. Takeaway food and drink also feature strongly.

Well Dressed

Well Dressed food is higher quality - but it still comes at a hefty cost to your pocket and the planet. Well dressed food often poses as nude food, but it isn't due to the resources that have gone into presenting the food. This category covers items such as gourmet paninis, posh salads and barista coffee. A good portion of this diet is still heavily packaged and disposable.

Comfortably Nude

Who wouldn't like to be Comfortably Nude?! Comfortable nudists have the balance right. Sure, the odd packet might make its way into their trolley and they may succumb to the occasional takeaway but on the whole this diet ticks all the right boxes. Comfortable Nudists know that real food is not only the best food but also the cheapest. They cook from scratch wherever possible and enjoy both the health and financial benefits of their chosen lifestyle.

Totally Starkers

This diet is as close as you can get to being completely and utterly nude in this day and age! Those who are 'Totally Starkers' are pretty much self-sufficient and grow as much of their own food as possible. Everything they need comes from the yard and they keep their own chickens and livestock. Supermarket visits are a rare occurrence and takeaway is non-existent. This diet - while being the most labour intensive - is by far the cheapest, healthiest and most eco-friendly way to eat.

Now you have read the levels. It is time to take the test...

Here is a link to the test. I hope you have fun doing it!

P.S. Don't forget to join in the fun in the Forum!

3. Best of the Vault: Fresh is Best!

Your challenge this month is to get nude! Take a look at your menu plan, shopping list and shopping habits to see how you can get more fresh ingredients into your fridge and cupboards.

Four easy-to-grow herbs

Herbs are very expensive to buy, so it's well worth growing your own. Here are four of the easiest herbs to grow:

Parsley grows very easily as a border along paths and can be chopped and frozen.
Mint grows well in pots near a tap. Lots of recipes require fresh mint so it's a good herb to have on hand.
Basil can be grown in pots or in a sunny spot in the garden. A good trick is to freeze basil in ice cubes for later use.
Rosemary thrives almost anywhere and even makes a small hedge!

Many other herbs grow with a minimum of fuss, but the four I have listed above will make a great start to your garden as they are used in cooking nearly every day.

Contributed by: Julie Chissell

Fruity ice adds flavour

My family has never been water drinkers as we don't like the bland taste. To keep our water intake up, we resorted to buying expensive bottles of flavoured water. Not anymore!

We recently had a baby, which means my water intake is very important, plus we must pay extra attention to our budget. So, I've come up with a way to still enjoy flavoured drinking water without the cost. We bought a few cheap ice trays from The $2 Shop and now use cheap fruit and vegetables to make flavoured ice cubes.

For example, strawberries were on special the other day. I cut them into quarters, placed a couple into each section of the ice tray and added water. The end result is pretty little ice cubes that clink delightfully in my glass of water - and the strawberry flavour is lovely.

We experiment with different flavours, like cucumber, lemon juice or blueberries. Sometimes we even use two different fruits in each ice cube. I love serving cool drinks to guests as I often receive positive comments!

Contributed by: Kallie

Start a buying club

We have started a friends' buying club and are saving hundreds of dollars on groceries!

Each week one person goes to the wholesale market and buys fruit and vegetables in bulk. They then separate the produce into boxes and distribute the boxes to the other club members. Every month, we also buy household products in bulk lots, such as shampoo, soap and washing powder. We then repack these products into our recycled bottles and containers!

We save over $200 per month on these simple purchases and we don't impulse buy as we hardly go to the supermarket anymore. It's so easy to do. Just get five neighbours or friends together, work out a roster and a few simple rules and start saving money.

Contributed by: Danielle

YouTube video shares secret to 'free' chicken

A simple YouTube video has helped me get a fantastic saving on buying chicken! We eat free range chicken, but my daughter loves it so much it has started to do our budget in. Just two chicken breast fillets at a total of 600g at $17.99 per kilo costs $10.79. Ouch!

In contrast, a 1.5kg whole free range chicken at $6.99/kg costs $0.28c less at $10.51. By using the techniques in this video, 'How to bone a chicken' I can get the two breast fillets I need, with the rest of the chicken thrown in for free! I'm sure this works equally well with ordinary or organic chickens. These days I buy four chickens at a time - and I'll never buy fillets again!

Contributed by: Silly Mummy

4. Best of the Forum: Back to Nature

For many of us, life is hectic and busy and cooking a fresh, nutritious meal is just another chore at the end of the day. Here are some ideas to kick-start your own nude food revolution!

The ho-hum of eating the same vegetables every day

It's just not Deliberate Creator who has a severe case of 'vegie boredom', but there are some great ideas in this thread to put some crunch back into your cooking repertoire.
read more...

The cost of convenience

Jenelle W's 'fritata experiment' shows us just why nude food is less expensive than 'convenience' shopping - great read, thanks Jenelle.
read more...

Using the whole bunch of celery

This thread takes a different look at 'waste' - definitely food for thought!
read more...

Spiced carrot salad

This quick, easy and delicious summer salad is a perfect example of nude food!
read more...

5. Best Members' Blog: Being Organised Saves Thousands

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Lil ol me for sharing her 'Once a Month Shopping' adventure!

"My BF and I took our first big step into Once a Month Shopping. I don't mind saying it was both exciting and a little scary. But when we saw the money saved at the bottom of the receipt, we were thrilled.

I scanned all the catalogues for specials, especially lunchbox specials, and wrote a list of all the items that were 40% savings or better or available in a reduced bulk pack. I then worked out how much we'd need for four to eight weeks, depending on the item. Some of the quantities were scary. Buying five of anything that is already a 20 pack is A LOT! But then a family of seven does eat a lot too! In total I planned to visit four stores, luckily all within close proximity of each other. I didn't bother with the 'what do we need this week question', it was all about what is super cheap that we use all the time.

Knowing we only wanted specials actually helped prevent any impulse buys, and having my BF possibly helped as well. ;-) All up it was actually quite a fast adventure; no wandering through the aisles as at most shops we only needed four to five items, just a lot of them. We did spend our entire weekly food budget, but we confidently know we don't need any lunchbox fillers, beverages, toiletries, cleaning supplies, washing supplies, meat and frozen vegies for at least a month. What this should mean is now we have the next three to four weeks to save what we normally would have spent.

In the end, we may have spent $322, but we saved $187, in just one shop. Whilst this isn't our entire monthly shop as we did have a lot of meat already in the freezer, even if we only save this much each month, that's an extra $2244 in our pocket each year, just by buying the same regular items on special.

I did get to enjoy another delicious saving today, just by knowing my consumer rights! A couple of days ago I went to put an item on layby for my son's birthday in February. I had done my research online and headed to the store that had the best price. When I got there, I discovered they had the better model advertised on a sign at the lesser model price. I asked for the better model at the advertised price, and was told it was a typo. I didn't bother arguing instore but took a photo on my phone to email their customer service when I got home. They were incredibly fast at responding and within 30 minutes I was given an apology and was able to return to the store to get the better model at the reduced price. I saved $30, plus the added bonus of a loyalty card giving me an extra 5% discount, so overall it was a saving of $40. I had my SS hat on, and instead of using the credit card, I put the item on layby, giving me five weeks to pay it off with no interest.

I always knew being organised saved you money, but never really embraced the concept until now. I'm sure if I wasn't so organised, I would have bought the same item two days before his birthday, paid full price, and used the credit card. Being so close after Christmas, I was also able to find clearance covers for the device reduced from $17 down to $2! Even more money saved, just by being organised."

Well done Lil Ol Me on getting organised and making some huge savings!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

6. Mimi: Roasted Vegetable Salad With Spicy Sausage and Honey Mustard Dressing

Yummy, easy, colourful, healthy... what more could you want?

You'll need:

An assortment of vegetables to roast... I chose potato, pumpkin and carrot, cut into similarly sized chunks, tossed with oil and seasoning and roasted at 180-200C until tender.
Red capsicum, torn into large chunks, tossed with oil and seasoning, and roasted at the same time, until the skin blackens and bubbles.
Baby spinach or salad leaves
Fresh herbs, any kind
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp white vinegar
Spicy sausage, for example, kabana, cabanossi, chorizo, black pepper and beef or Thai chicken, pan fried and sliced thinly

Then just:

Skin the capsicum, discard the skin and slice into strips.

Heat the honey for just a few seconds in the microwave to liquefy it, and add the vinegar and mustard, whisking well.

Set out your plates and add a layer of greens as a 'bed' for the vegies.

Toss the roasted vegetables and cooked and sliced sausage and divide equally between your plates.

Top with the roasted capsicum strips and drizzle with the dressing.

Enjoy!

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

7. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Crook Plants and a Wander Through the Patch

A virus in the patch :-/

Plant diseases can be a persistent problem in the vegie patch if you don't get on top of them quickly. Luckily enough for us the most common diseases we have to face in the patch are powdery and downy mildew. Both of these can easily be treated and controlled with a simple spray made of bi-carb soda (baking powder) and water. Plant viruses are unfortunately a little bit harder to deal with as there are no effective treatments once the plant is infected. They first became an issue in our garden a year or so ago when we started to notice that the leaves of some heirloom tomatoes were not developing correctly. The same deformation of the leaves started to quickly appear on two lots of potatoes and a few eggplants.

The infected plants all had a noticeable symptom of a fern-like curling of the leaves. This severely stunted all growth and stopped any flowers forming on the fruiting plants. I was lucky that at the time I had a visit from a knowledgeable mate (cheers Sir Dave) who identified the cause of the weird leaf curling as a plant virus, possibly cucumber mosaic virus, although we never had an official diagnosis made.

Plant viruses are normally spread by sap-sucking insects like aphids, whitefly and thrips, as well as some leaf-eating insects, so it does pay to stay on top of them if you see them around the patch. I have read that it isn't a good idea to spray the plants for pest insects once a viral infection has been identified, the reason being that this will quite often make the insects carrying the infections flee to other plants, in turn infecting them.

There is no treatment for a plant once it's infected other than to remove the plant material and dispose of it outside the garden. I have included a link to a webpage/PDF download that has more information to help identify different plant viruses you might encounter in your patch, the plants they can infect and the means by which they are transmitted. This summer we've seen infections pop up in a few spots in the garden. The 'giant tree' tomato was the first casualty; from there it spread to a few nearby capsicum seedlings. We have also seen the symptoms show up in a few other plants like the celery and some potatoes down the back, again all located within a few metres of each other. Most of the plants have already been removed so I hope we have stopped or at least slowed down its spread.

After chatting to some gardening friends online recently (cheers Nathan & folks), I narrowed down the weird cupping of the leaves on the yacon to be most possibly caused by a plant virus as well. I think it may be the cucumber mosaic virus as it is known to affect many different types of plants but, as I said above, I haven't had any samples tested. On the upside, I got to do an early harvest and ended up with a few sweet yacon roots to juice and munch on.

I hope that helps a few folks that have come across similar issues with their plants but were unsure of what they were.

A wander around the patch

I thought I'd give you a bit of a walk through the yard in this blog, we have a few new plants on the go as well as a few upcoming changes we want to implement around the patch.

Bits out the front

I have let some of the beds out the front have a bit of a rest over the past few months so there isn't a lot going on out there. Most beds were given a bit of a feed with some stable scrapings with a few then going on to provide us mini harvests from volunteer plants which has been great. The asparagus bed slowed down its spear production for a while but has bounced back nicely after a few doses of compost tea (funny that). The spear size we are now getting is a lot smaller and would normally be let go to turn to fern by most folks. One way you can continue to get a small harvest from your plants once the spear size is too small for harvesting is to 'tip' the thin young spears once they reach a certain length.

I like to let them grow to about 600-800mm (2-2½') and then pinch off the tender growing tip. This way we can extend the harvest while also allowing the plant enough greenery to provide energy for the crown to grow and thrive. It also keeps the plant ferns from exploding onto the lawn. While the small tips look a tad scraggly they taste just as nice as the large juvenile spears.

The perpetual spinach in the bed next to it were knocked around by the recent hot weather.

We have been using the spinach as chook fodder mainly and will be sowing a few more to replace these plants. I am looking at turning this bed into a corn bed in a month or so after the other corn matures a bit.

The next bed has had the yellow cherry tomatoes removed as it was starting to look a bit scrappy and the production slowed down. Half a dozen field peas were sown out in there along with a couple of tromboncino (trombone) zucchini.

To get the bed ready for the zucchini it was top dressed with some commercial compost, then a 100mm/4" layer of aged horse manure and topped it all off with some mulch. The manure will not only feed the soil but will also keep the compost worms in the bed well fed. A mesh wire trellis will be added so the zucchini has something to climb on once they put on a bit of size.

Kira's bed is booming at the moment.

It's looking rather jam-packed with two volunteer Thai basil and LOADS of French marigolds. The Thai basil is covered in flowers and it won't be long before the same can be said of the marigolds. It has been great watching all the hoverflies and the different bees come in to feast on the basil flowers.

The next bed was planted out with some sweet corn a few weeks ago. Unfortunately the high temperatures we had last weekend knocked a lot of the new shoots off, so I decided buy some seedlings to fill the gaps.

With Sunday's temperature said to be reaching 38°C/100°F I decided to pop some small sections of shade cloth up over both the corn and zucchini beds. That way I won't have to replant then both again. ;-)

The next bed has a volunteer rockmelon pop up in the corner while the corn was in there. Since the corn was removed it has decided to take over the front corner of the yard including the bed next to it.

So far we've had two fruit ripen on the vine, the first one was unfortunately split and infested with bugs but the second was perfect. :-) I have a feeling that these are the offspring of a store-bought fruit as they are nowhere near as sweet as any of the varieties we have grown before. They do have a very strong rockmelon flavour though and taste great in the morning juice.

Bits out the back

Things out the back have been going a bit slow lately as a few of the beds are being allowed to rest for a few months like some out the front.

A first for us this year is using green pawpaw/papaya in salads.

It has a mild flavour and went really well in an Asian-style salad we made up the other night. It was definitely a lot better received by the girls than the ripe fruit we picked. ;-) I will be making up a green mango and pawpaw salad tonight to try out a Thai-style dressing. Far too hot for an Australia day lamb roast/BBQ methinks. ;-)

Bianca and I have also decided to remove the longest wicking bed in the patch as we are 99% certain that the reservoir membrane has been compromised and is allowing water to escape.

At this stage we will be replacing it with a series of smaller wicking beds that will all be connected to an auto top up reservoir which will make them easier to fill. I'm thinking they will be built along the lines of our Auto Top Up Wicking Barrels. I am contemplating plumbing them up slightly differently though so they might also be suitable to add into the aquaponic system at some point in the future. Before that happens we will need to harvest the potatoes and transplant the chilli bush from the bed.

One lot of plants I'm very pleased with so far this summer has been the spice plants. We have five stands of turmeric in various wicking gardens and barrels with all of them putting on some great growth. One barrel in particular has even managed to dazzle us again with some very beautiful flowers.

The flower on the left with the pink tinge to the petals is a newly emerged Madras turmeric flower and the one on the right shows how it fades into a green tinge after a week or so. We also have four types of culinary ginger around the patch as well.

The Kencur ginger is a low-growing ginger that has a rather stunning little flower. We haven't cooked with this or the Chinese keys ginger, as we are trying to grow enough rhizome to get larger yields next season. I am sure that a small amount will be set aside once the plants die back at the end of the season this year to go into a meal or two. ;-)

A fishy update

I have finally set the fish farm up the way it was meant to run a few weeks ago when the silver perch were removed and added into the aquaponic system. That left 59 Jade perch to split between the two fish tanks of this system. Between the fish farm and aquaponics we should be having a few meals of fish a week once they put on a bit more size, something that we are looking forward to. Might even pop a few in the smoker. ;-)

I did a bit of a clip showing how the fish were moved and also covered how much feed the fish are getting for folks that might be interested.

That's about it for this month. Hope you enjoyed the quick walk around the patch and that summer is treating you and your patch well. It is crazy to think sitting here in 36°C heat that we are only six or so weeks away from starting off some of our cool weather crops.

Cheers folks & have a great one.

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

8. Penny Wise: Going it Alone

I didn't know what to call this post - 'Going on holiday?' 'Putting Penny to sleep?' I'm still not sure! Still, we'll go with this one. You may have noticed that my blogs on Simple Savings have been getting fewer and farther between. This is largely due to the fact I have been working so many jobs but (and this probably sounds a bit weird) on the rare occasions I had time to sit and put 'pen to paper', I just couldn't tune into being Penny any more. My own head was so full of stuff that I just couldn't think of a thing to say! It took a while to realise what the problem was but I can see now that this was the real me trying to get out. As soon as I realised what I had to do, the urge to write immediately came back again! And, what I need to do is give Penny a rest and let Jackie take over. I need to put my head down, bum up and get both Penny and me out of the financial mess we're in. And, not being one to do things by halves I am also saying goodbye to the budgeting ladies. They have been wonderful and I have been so lucky but I want to stand on my own two feet now and be 100% focused without - well, without anyone telling me what to do I guess. It's time to step up, do things my way and see how fast I can reach my goal.

So this will be my last blog as Penny, at least for now. The thing is, the real me still has a lot going on in her head! And, I'm a writer. I have to write stuff, I can't help it. I'm never happier than when I'm writing heaps, even if nobody else reads it. So the real me has started a new blog and you are very welcome to pop in any time. It's called Riches Have Wings and it feels like a breath of fresh air to me right now. I shall miss Penny, she was a bit of a sweetie lol but I like to think the new, more focussed me will have more to offer, both as a writer and a money saver. I guess time will tell! I'm sure I will still pop my head into the Forum now and again so it's not goodbye. I still know where to find you and now you know where to find me. :) If you would like to stay in touch with me or keep posted on how I'm doing in my mission, the best way is to 'like' my official Jackie Gower, Writer page on Facebook. I wouldn't have made it this far over the last couple of years without the help and support of all of you so please don't be strangers and I'll try not to be too!

See you all around. :) xxx

9. From Last Month: Recipes Using Non-Perishable Ingredients

Last month Cherie emailed us about ideas for non-perishable recipes:

"A group from our church wants simple recipes for meals made from non-perishable ingredients to give to families who find it a struggle after Christmas. Some ideas we had were pasta bake and tuna casserole but we'd love some more."

Thank you for your wonderful ideas for Cherie; here are some of our favourites:

Cream corn and corned beef make easy 'cupboard' casserole

Tinned cream corn and tinned corned beef make a nice casserole mixed together. You can also mix coconut milk and corned beef, add chopped onion and lots of spinach or any other greens. I base this dish on a Samoan one called Pulisami. Another good combination is a tin of green curry tuna and a packet of rice risotto.

Contributed by: Honora

Don't overlook meals from tins!

If you're looking for non-perishable meals, don't overlook tins! You can get non-perishable 'luncheon meat' in the form of tinned sausages, chicken and corned beef. You can have tinned mushrooms with rice, noodles or potatoes, as well as baked beans and creamed corn. Don't forget hard boiled eggs! You can stretch these meals with tinned soup, pasta/noodles and a dash of imagination to make casseroles, bakes and risottos. (From 'Cooking with Soup'.)

Contributed by: Doreen

Make a bake for goodness sake!

'Bakes' are a fantastic way to make non-perishable meals for camping or hampers for those in need. Think of pasta/tuna/cheese bakes!

Use macaroni (elbow pasta) for the best results and cook it as usual. Meanwhile make a cheese sauce with (powdered) milk, (processed) cheese and cornflour. Grate some extra cheese. Drain the pasta and put into a casserole dish. Open, drain and break up the tuna and mix into the pasta. Gently stir the cheese sauce through the pasta and tuna, and top with the extra grated cheese. Bake in moderate oven until casserole is hot and cheese topping is golden and melted. This is also nice with curry powder stirred through. No exact measurements, as you use what you have, but it goes a surprisingly long way!

Contributed by: Brenda

Delicious vegetarian meal - just look in the cupboard!

I have a vegetarian recipe that can use tinned/fresh sausages/hot dogs to replace the vegetarian ones. It's really quick to make, hearty and freezes well. The only real cooking is for the rice but packets of pre-cooked rice could be used (doesn't taste as good).

1 packet of Sanitarium hot dogs OR 6 cooked sausages OR one can or jar of hot dogs
1 tin corn kernels
1 tin 5-bean (or 3-bean, etc) mix - the ones with no vinegar
1 tin crushed or diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste (more if you want)
3 tbsp Ayam brand sweet and sour sauce (more if you want)
1 and a half cups cooked rice
1 beef stock cube (or more)

Method:

Slice hot dogs into 1cm lengths and toss in frying pan on low to medium setting.

Open and drain the corn and beans and add to pan, stirring lightly.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and sweet and sour sauce. Then crumble the stock cube over this and stir well to mix the flavours evenly.

Add cooked rice and stir through, allowing to simmer for a few minutes. If you prefer, you can leave the rice out of the pan and serve it as a side dish.

Serves 4

Contributed by: Xymonau

One minute meals from next to nothing

You can make a very quick and easy macaroni cheese using pasta, cream cheese spread and garlic salt. Just as easily you can make a tomato-based pasta sauce. You can cook a 'baked bean stew' with baked beans, dried onions, tins of tomatoes, peas and corn. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve over rice. Yummo!

Contributed by: Sinders

10. This Month's Help Request: Secret Linen Business!

Siobhan has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I need some help with linen! I cleaned out my linen cupboard recently and sadly realised everything was mis-matched, poor quality and bought without much thought. For example, the fluffy white towels for our family of mechanics was probably a bit silly, as were the brightly coloured (cheap!) sheet sets that feel awful and don't wear well. It's time to do some shopping to buy replacements that will last, look and feel good and, well, spoil us just a bit! So I need your BEST ideas for linen - what brands to buy, what to look for, tips, storage, washing and so on. Please let me know your 'secret linen business'!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Siobhan, please send them in to us here.

11. Goodbye for Now

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for February and we hope you get a chance to do the Nude Food Quiz and see if you can make any changes!

Remember: We also have a new public Facebook Group for you to check out!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

February 2018 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - February 2018

This issue includes:

March is Start a Nest Egg Month!
Calendar Challenges
Tips For Building a Nest Egg
Supporting Each Other in the Forum
Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!
Vault Memberships

Hi,

How are you going? Did you save lots of money in February? I hope so :-)

March is "Nest Egg" month. In this newsletter I hope to show you how Nest Eggs are more than just money. They are freedom.

If you already have a Nest Egg: Well done! Read this newsletter and then send it on to a friend who you think might find it useful.

Have a great month!

Many grins,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. While writing this newsletter I found out that none of my children knew what a Nest Egg was. Every time I said the words "Nest Egg". They said "What is a nest egg?"

Put simply, a Nest Egg is a sum of money saved for the future.

P.P.S.S. Competition Update
We had some lovely entries for last month's No Spend Challenge Competition. But everyone has entered Category 1 and 3. We have had no entries for Category 2. Originally, the competition closed Midnight, March 1st. We have extended the date by one week to midnight, March 8th. More information below.

1. March is Start a Nest Egg Month!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everything in your life was ALWAYS rosy? If everything always went as planned? You never got ill, you lived till 99, your fridge never broke, your car always ran and you were never, ever, ever whacked with a large "Oh #$@%!, I missed that one!" bill.

Life doesn't work that way. Life throws us curve balls. Bad things happen, and whether they leave you completely hammered and scraping for spare change under your car seat or feeling really lucky because you can still afford to pay for the kids' sport comes down to one thing: The size of your nest egg.

A nest egg is important because it gives you freedom. No one wants to be controlled by their lack of bank balance, and if you don't have a nest egg when disaster strikes this is exactly what happens. Instead of being able to make wise, good for your future, wealthy choices you are forced to make poor, poverty-driven, payday-to-payday choices.

To show you the sort of poor decisions people are forced to make simply because they didn't have a nest egg, I have made a quick table of the curve balls I have seen thrown at people and the sort of decisions they were faced with dependent on the size of their nest egg.

Curve Ball

With Nest Egg

Without Nest Egg

Car dies and isn't worth repairing

Pay cash for good quality second hand car. Total $6,000

Get an unsecured personal loan for $6,000 car. Total cost of car after interest, $7,560. End up another $1,560 behind.

Fridge dies

Pay $400 cash on Gumtree for a high quality, second hand fridge.

Buy a new fridge with a Buy Now, Pay Later scheme. Total cost of new fridge around $2000.

Auto-immune disorder

When your GP and the public system was unable to help you, you were able to pay for a good homeopath and recover your health.

When you were still ill after visiting the GP and going through the public system. Took the drugs on the PBS, couldn't afford anything else, had no other options and remained ill.

Drug addicted family member

Pay $10,000 for rehab. Take time off work to help family member. Be able to choose the best treatment for your child.

Cry. Feel helpless. Beg hospitals and doctors to help you. Have them turn their back on your family.

Bad sprain

Pay for private hospital, moon boot and physio. Able to rest and heal quickly.

Wait for 8 hours in public emergency ward. Struggle to pay for physio, have problems with ankle for years to come.

House burned down

Buy yourself some clothes and a toothbrush. Check into a hotel.

Wait for the insurance to pay for some accomodation, clothes, etc while relying on the charity of friends or relatives.

IVF

Get it straight away. Try everything you can to conceive baby.

Wait while your eggs decrease and have to save money to pay for it.

Car accident

Lay in bed, rest and recover.

Dose yourself on pain killers so you can keep turning up to work. Injuries are unable to heal properly.

Teen's Wonky Teeth

You can pay for braces.

Sink further into debt or child has to put up with dodgy teeth till they can pay for their own braces.

Toddler's Chalk teeth

You have the $2,000 spare. Pay for young child to get teeth fixed under a general anaesthetic in a private hospital.

Teeth must be fixed while child is awake in the chair because the government dental subsidies only cover procedures in the dentist's chair.

Vaccination*

Do your research and choose the healthiest option for your child.

Coerced into making a medical decision because government money is desperately needed to pay rent.

All of the situations above are based on real events. They are based on real people and the very real choices they have to make. Can you see how a nest egg makes your life easier? If you have a good nest egg it will shelter you and stop your situation from progressing from bad to worse.

This is why we want you to build yourself a nest egg. We want you to be strong. We want you to be able to face every challenge with your head held high.

Yes, we know this is a hot-button topic. The Australian government has recently made this into a financial issue and there are plenty of families feeling the strain. That makes it our concern.

2. Calendar Challenges

Just in case you haven't seen them, the challenges we set for March are:-

Beginner: - Choose your path. Decide how you want your future to be.

Moderate: - Plan your path. Work out how you're going to make your plans come true.

Hard core: - Walk your path. Start working towards your new future.

When building a nest egg there are some very important steps. The first is deciding what type of future you would like. Do you want a future where you are in charge, or do you want a future where your lack of money rules your life? These are the sort of choices only you can make. This is why the first Challenge is for you to Choose your path.

If you have already chosen how you want your future to look, then it is time for you to make a plan. You need to decide what it is you are going to do to put money away. What are you going to do differently?

Deciding how you want your life to be and planning how to make it happen are two very important steps. The next step is to take action.

Members-Only Worksheets

These worksheets are for Simple Savings members. Please log in to Simple Savings to access them.

If you are not yet a member, it is a tiny $21 per year. Grab a membership here.

Homework!

Would you like us to mark your worksheets? Scan or take a photo of your finished pages and send them in to info@simplesavings.com.au

3. Tips For Building a Nest Egg

Many people believe building a nest egg is too difficult and out of their reach, but nest eggs don't have to be large and they don't have to be complex. Here are some great tips to get you started.

Careful saving and clever investing build impressive nest-egg

We have managed to build a share portfolio worth approximately $30,000 for our two children who are now aged 14 and 15 - and we did not put any of our own money into this.

Not having a lot of money ourselves, over the years we purchased clothes and toys from eBay and garage sales. When the items were not required any more, we put them back onto eBay, along with anything else saleable (and often from garage sales). Any money earned went straight into a bank account for the children. Each time we reached $1000 we purchased shares. We have been both lucky and unlucky in our choices, but over the years, we have built a substantial nest egg for our children that only took our time to build, not our money.

Contributed by: Kerry R

Get $500 from Smith Family Saver Plus

Joining The Smith Family's Saver Plus program is a great way to start a nest egg. If you save $500 over ten months with The Saver Plus program and complete their financial literacy course they will give you $500. To be eligible to join Saver Plus you must:

have a Centrelink Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card
be at least 18 years old
have some regular income from work (self or partner) including casual, part-time, full-time or seasonal work
have a child at school or attend vocational education yourself, and
live, work, study or have a child at school in an area when Saver Plus is delivered.

Once eligible participants sign up for Saver Plus they:

are assigned a Saver Plus Coordinator that provides personal support and guidance throughout the program
identify a savings goal
make regular deposits over 10 month period
attend MoneyMinded training to improve their financial skills, which consists of four informative, fun and informal workshops

Upon completion of the program, ANZ matches the participants' savings dollar-for-dollar up to $500 which can be spent on educational expenses including computers, text books, uniforms, excursions , music and sports costs.

Ditching disposables kick-starts a nest egg

I've saved hundreds through not buying disposable nappies! When my baby was born, I made the decision to buy Coles Comfy Bots nappies and Coles refill pack wipes instead of buying Huggies. After one year, the saving was a staggering $410! I put the money into an ING savings account. Once she was toilet trained, I kept putting the money into the same account, which earned 5.85% interest. Over five years, I've saved $6,572! A great start to an education fund!

Contributed by: Joanne D

Steal money from yourself

If you tend to spend your money till it's gone, the best way for you to build a nest egg is to steal it from yourself before you have chance to spend it. Set up a separate savings account which automatically deducts money from your main account the same day your pay goes in. Then the money will be gone before you have a chance to miss it.

Create extra money

With a little smart thinking I have found a way I can turn a few minutes' extra effort into 12 days of extra income! I work full time, have three children and a husband and am also studying part time for a Uni degree. Each day I work an extra 20 minutes at my full time job. My work allows me to accrue this so that one day per month I am able to have a 'creating extra money day'. I spend this day doing all the bits and pieces that bring extra money and/or savings in to the house. Examples include:

claiming health rebates (Medicare and/or private) due to my family;
completing market research questionnaires on free trial products I have received and tested;
touching base with key budget conscious sites such as Simple Savings and Government sites so I know changes to entitlements and so on
entering competitions; and
claiming 'cash back' or gift cards on frequent/user/membership cards.

I really enjoy doing this and look forward to seeing how much 'income' I can make one day each month. To me it is truly a fun and creative day off work and study!

Contributed by: Tania Lee

Discount jar a great way to save

I've found a way to make my discounts work twice as hard - and earn me over $1000 in a year! I work for a large supermarket group and have a staff discount card. Around seven years ago I decided to start a "Discount Jar". Whenever I got a discount, I put the same amount into my discount jar - with the idea being to save towards a family activity at Christmas time such as going to a theatre restaurant or a Ghost Tour at St Helena Island.

The first year we saved just under $200 but each year it grew as I also started saving any discount I received from petrol and other similar discounts. On 1 December 2012, we opened the discount jar and, to everyone's surprise, discovered we had $1,052.75!

Due to family members being away just before Christmas we didn't do our normal outing, so we decided to put it towards our new kitchen that we'll be getting shortly. This year I have already saved at least $250 in the jar so it should be another good year. I've even started jars for our sons!

Contributed by: Fay Howard

Fill a treasure chest with gold!

One year a friend gave me a money tin and on the side of it was printed, 'If you fill this tin with only gold coins by the time it's full you will have at least $500'. It really didn't look big enough to hold that amount of money, but I love a challenge so I decided to find out if it could!

We started in March and any gold coins we had went into the tin. Our goal was to open the tin at Christmas and use it to pay off lay-bys plus have some spending money over the Christmas break.

November rolled around and the tin wasn't quite full. However, when we opened it up and counted our 'gold' we were very surprised and extremely happy to discover we had collected $700 in our little tin!

Because of that little treasure chest of gold we enjoyed a fantastic stress-free Christmas! I was able to pay for all the presents for our immediate and extended family as well as cater for a great Christmas day feast, AND we had spending money left over for the holidays.

Now it's a family tradition. My sceptical husband happily donates all his gold coins to the tin and my 12-year-old will go hunting for gold coins just to add them to the collection! I know that I don't have to worry about the financial strain of Christmas any more as my tin has it covered.

Contributed by: Nicole

Coke bottle challenge

Stashing your $2 coins in a coke bottle is a great way to start a nest egg. You'll be amazed by how much money you can get in each bottle.

$350 saved in a 250ml bottle
$880 saved in a 600ml bottle
$1,510 saved in a 1 litre bottle
$1,580 saved in a 1.25 litre bottle

(IMPORTANT: You can talk about your challenge in the forum but DO NOT TELL OTHERS about your coke bottle challenge on Facebook. A few Group members have already had their Coke bottle savings STOLEN.)

If you like these tips and want more we have another 18,659 of them in our Members' Area. If you would like a membership, it is a tiny $21 per year. Grab a membership here.

4. Supporting Each Other in the Forum

If you would like a helping hand to find your Savings Mojo with your No Spend Challenges, or if you are No Spend Master ready to guide others, pop into our paid members' forum.

Here are a couple of recent threads, for members:

Need to find at least an extra $1000/mth

When leaem asked for help getting her budget back under control, Simple Savers were there to help with kind, detailed and very useful suggestions.
read more...

Money tin challenge 2018

Simple Savers have been cheering each other on in this thread for five years. The good thing about sharing your savings in this thread versus sharing them on Facebook is... no one knows where you live.
read more...

5. Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!

We had some lovely entries for last month's No Spend Challenge Competition, but everyone has entered Category 1 and 3. We have had no entries for Category 2. Originally, the competition closed Midnight, March 1st. We have extended the date by one week to midnight, March 8th.

The winners will be the most inspiring entry in each category. Please send your No Spend Challenge tales to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by midnight, March 8th. Here are the three categories:

Category 1: Show us how you avoided 20 non-essential purchases to win $25
Category 2: Show us how you avoided 50 non-essential purchases to win $50
Category 3: Show us how you avoided all non-essential purchases to win $125

Please make sure your emails states which category you are entering. The full competition rules are here.

6. Vault Memberships

This is a free newsletter sponsored by our paid members area the Savings Vault. If you would you like to become a paid member, you can do so here.

Till next time...

Goodbye for now... I hope you have a fantastic month. I'm really looking forward to seeing your worksheets and hearing about some fresh warm nest eggs in the coming weeks. :-)

Many grins,
Fiona

February 2020 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - February 2020

How are you going this month?

In February we are focusing on de-cluttering. It is my husbands favourite month. I like to collect and hoard, he likes to throw things out. This month, we will be working together to make our home a nicer place. (Don't ask what happens other months!)

We have good news about our Leg Up program. It is now officially up and running. Here are some of the stories from people we have been able to help by giving them a Vault Membership so far:-

"I had unplanned twins in 2019 and now need all the $ help I can. (They are cute though)"

"I'd love a leg up subscription please!! I was a vault member a few years ago and loved all the info and the community. Had to stop working and become full time carer to my youngest son (special needs) while he is undergoing chemo. Just had to cut out the extras I'm afraid."

"I'm in need of financial assistance as I'm going through a very difficult time currently (messy divorce) that is financially crippling myself and my children."

In case this is the first time you have heard about our Leg Up Program, from now on for every full price Vault Membership purchased we are giving one away to someone who could do with a helping hand. If you would like to apply to the Leg Up program, click here.

And, if you are interested in decluttering, keep reading.

All the best

Fiona

Challenges: De-cluttering month

This month we want you to read through the newsletter, take a look around your house and set yourself some challenges. You can choose from the calendar challenges below or set your own.

The calendar challenges for this month are:

Easy: Find new homes for 50 items
Medium: Find new homes for 200 items
Difficult: Find new homes for 1000 items

Read through this newsletter, have a look around your house and decide, what will your decluttering challenge be?

Guide on how to de-clutter from someone who hates de-cluttering

This is an "If I can do it, so can you" kind of guide.

Some people love cleaning, they really enjoy it. That person is not me. It will never be me. I doubt there is anything anyone can do to get me to enjoy cleaning or decluttering. But I enjoy the results. I like it when the kitchen is clean, I like it when I can find things in the garage and I like how it makes life easier.

If you like collecting things and hate throwing them out, if cleaning is something you usually have on the bottom of your to do list, then this is the decluttering guide for you.

The first step will be examining your house

The next, working out how decluttering could help you

Then making a plan

And, choose your challenges

Let's begin..

What parts of your home annoy you?

If everything is absolutely fantastic about your house and your life. If you have all the free time you need to do all the things you want, stop reading now. But, if there are days that you can't find the lid for a container, you can't remember what you own, your time is being wasted and the space in your home is being hogged by things you never use. Then it is time to turn those annoyances into a plan.

Grab a few sheets of paper and at the top of each page write down the name of each room, such as kitchen, kids bedroom, parents bedroom, hallway etc.

Then take a stroll through each room and make a list of things that bug you. They don't have to be enormous things. It could be a paint chip, a mess on the floor, a cupboard too full to be useful or kids always leave their shoes in that spot..

Another way to look at it. Write down all the things you would change about your house if you had $5,000 to spend and unlimited labour.

It could be things such as messy bookshelf, sad furniture, paint is tired, walls are dirty, screens need a wipe, unorganised, larger verandah, don't know what is in the garage, laundry pile is a midden, anything that is holding you back from enjoying your home.

The reason I want you to write those things down is because later that list is going to form the backbone of your plan. But, before we go there. Ask yourself the question...

What is your stuff costing you?

This is a really important question, because everything has a cost. The sooner you work out that cost, the sooner you can decide whether or you would like to keep paying the price. To work out the costs some questions to ask yourself are:-

Is your stuff holding you back?
What is it your clutter is stopping you from enjoying?
Is it costing you a tidy house?
Is it causing you to buy things you don't need?
Is it wasting your time?
Is it causing you to lose time?
Is it stopping you from enjoying your home?
Are you having to pay cash for storage?
Could you rent out a room if you cleared away?
When was the last time you used things you have stored?
Is it costing you brain space?

NOTE: If you have any suggestions for other ways clutter creates costs. Come share them in this month's challenge Vault thread.

Have a think about the costs and and write down what you will be losing if you allow your life and house to remain the way it is.

After you have written it down, think about the next question.

What is in it for me?

This is a really important question. Why should you stop doing something else you probably love and make time to declutter. I want you to think about the list of annoyances you have made of your house and how changing the things on that list will improve your life.

Will it make you feel happier?
Will it free up your time?
Will it make you more content?
Will it give you more space?
Will it help your budget?
Will it give you more control of your life?
Will it save you money?

Think about it and write down three ways improving your home will improve your life.

Getting the most bang for your buck

Going through your whole house has probably given you a long and very daunting list of annoyances that would take years to change. I doubt anyone can get through that list in one month and keep their sanity.

The good news is you don't have to do everything on your list, you only need to do a few things. But which things? Which things are going to get you the largest rewards for the least effort?

To find this out, I want you to sort through your list and rate each item on the list from 1 to 10. 1 being the easiest to do and biggest reward and 10 is the hardest to achieve and least impact.

For example, helping my boys sort their clothes is easy to do and it will reduce the time it takes them to get ready in the morning. So, it is high on my list. Let's say one.

Cleaning the entire garage will take some time, but it is affordable and being able to place my hand on the thing I need in ten seconds, would be heavenly. So this gets a 2.

Getting rid of the awful furnishings in our laundry that we don't really use and probably should have been thrown years ago. Isn't that hard to do and will make me feel good. But, I may need replacement furniture. It is a three.

Stripping and painting cornices in the lounge room. Is too difficult to do this month, but I'll feel so much better after they are done. So, it is getting a five.

Stripping and painting the cornices in the bathroom is easier. It got a 3.

New lino throughout the house is a dream of mine, but costly, difficult and it won't change the way our home functions. So, it gets a nine.

This ranked list is the start of your plan.

On a separate piece of paper write down everything you gave a 1 or a 2.

This is now your 'Improve your home, Improve your life' to do list.

Manageable chunks

The next step is to break any of the big items on that list to digestible two hour chunks.

For example, cleaning the garage is a big job and the idea of doing it all at once does my head in. So instead I have broken it into two-hour chunks such as:

Sort camping gear
Sort tools
Sort wood stash
Sort junk in corner

You get the idea.

Choose your challenge

Once you have read the newsletter it is time to choose your challenge. Will you gently dip your toe in and do an easy challenge or try something harder? I've chosen to challenge myself with 8 two hour decluttering/house improvement sessions.

What will your challenge be?

Help, Support and Guidance

If you would like more ideas and people to talk with about decluttering. Join in Claires' Monthly Challenge thread. This is where Vault members support each other on their challenge. If you can't afford a Vault membership at this time, apply to our Leg Up program.

Extra inspiration from the forum

Members have been helping each other declutter for years. Here are some information-crammed threads to help you declutter:

2008 July: Decluttering Month

2009 - War on Debt: Nov - Decluttering Month

War on Debt 2010 - September: 100 Item Challenge

2014 - Calendar Challenge - September - Declutter

2018 October - CHUCK OR FLOG - SS Calendar Challenge

2019 July - CHUNK OR FLOG - SS Calendar Challenge

Kon Mari method of decluttering #1

Competition: Cook's Challenge

Often decluttering our pantry or fridge involves throwing out a big pile of food. This is pretty wasteful. Instead, I'm giving you a challenge to grab some ingredients out of your pantry, fridge, freezer or yard which you would not normally cook with or eat, and turn them into something special.

This month we are giving away 2 x $50 prizes to the best creations.

To enter the competition send the story of your food with before and after photos to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by 23rd February.

Decluttering tips from the Vault

The Vault is filled with 20,000+ money saving tips. Here are some to help you declutter your home. If you would like to read more tips from the Vault, buy a membership for $21 or apply to our Leg Up program.

Get decluttering help from a 'friend'

I have found the cheapest and easiest way to declutter is to enlist the help of a friend - an imaginary one, that is! Sometimes when cleaning out your wardrobe, it's easier to let a friend help - particularly if that friend is very honest and harsh at culling old clothes. While clothes aren't a problem for me, I have a huge collection of CD's, books and DVD's and was finding it really hard to part with them! Books especially were a problem - I couldn't bring myself to let them go, even though I knew I would probably never read them again.

So I decided to pretend I was someone other than myself! Sounds silly? Maybe - but it allowed me to detach myself enough from the emotional side of me that wanted to keep all the books. In doing that, I was very fast (not giving myself time to think) and went a lot on intuition. I threw out over 200 books! I then closed the door, rang my friends, told them there were a heap of books on the floor in my office and they would be there till 5pm if anyone wanted any. Any that remained I then took up to the Salvation Army at 5pm, so I was not tempted to go through the pile later in the evening. It's definitely been the most successful decluttering method I have ever had!

Contributed by: CC

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Save the important things in life

I live in an area that was recently hit by floods. While we rushed to try to save everything from the water, I was amazed as to how much 'stuff' we had that we just didn't need. Being surrounded by all these items actually made saving the 'important' stuff so much harder. I thought I had already decluttered my home, but I was wrong. The flood has made my whole family more aware of how we accumulate 'things' through our lives - some of which are important and others which are not. As people we tend to hold onto things that we 'might use one day'. I found, however, that it was these items that just got in the way in an emergency. When disaster strikes you need to be able to save your family, then if you have time, the important 'things' in your life. In the coming weeks, we will be having a massive garage sale to clean out our home and sheds and we won't be keeping anything that has not been used in the past two years. Not only will we be able to clear out the unused, non-essential things, we'll also be able to make some money to replace some of the important items that we lost in the flood. Decluttering for me came in the form of a flood - don't wait for Mother Nature to help, she'll only make it harder. Be proactive and start sorting the things that really matter from the things that don't.

Contributed by: Ros Plunkett

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Tears turn to triumph for happy declutterer

Contributed by: Jaymee Hams

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Toolshed a goldmine for scrap metal

While recently decluttering my husband's tool shed, we were amazed to find he was harbouring a small goldmine! The shed was overflowing with stuff that he didn't use but said he could not do without. After a quick tidy up he discovered he had two or three boxes of wire and cable from a previous job. He took all the unwanted cable off to the scrap metal yard and was handed $101.30 for his trouble. We got paid $1.30 a kilo for stuff that was doing nothing but taking up much needed space! Apparently, they strip the copper out of the wire and then sell it to other companies. So, take a good look at what unwanted items are cluttering up your tool shed - you too could be harbouring a nice little earner!

Contributed by: Mrs J

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Audit your medicine cupboard

Auditing my medicine cabinet stops me from buying unnecessary products. I decided to check the expiry date of all the medications in my medicine cabinet and do some decluttering while I was at it.

To my horror, some prescription medicines had been in there for so long I didn't remember what they had been prescribed for in the first place. As I removed these products, I thought about how much money had been wasted on these expired medicines. Some had cost over $40, so there was literally hundreds of dollars worth of useless medicines clogging up my cupboard.

To avoid further wastage, I wrote up a list of all the still-valid medications along with their expiry dates. I now carry this list around with me and when the doctor recommends certain medications, I can check the list before I head to the chemist and see if we already have that medication at home. This list will also ensure that I can keep track of staple non-prescription medications, such as Nurofen or Infant Panadol. There is nothing worse than having a sick child in need of Panadol late on a Sunday night when the pharmacy is closed!

As you can see, taking 10 minutes to check the medicine cupboard at home will not only benefit your health, but also your bank balance!

Editor's note: All medicines should be safely disposed of by taking them to your local chemist.

Contributed by: Jackel

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Makeover your property without spending a fortune

It doesn't have to cost a fortune to give a property a real makeover. I can recommend the following:

Set aside $10,000 or so for renovating the bathroom/kitchen. Many houses are sold with dodgy old bathrooms or kitchens. Of course, if you find a house without this problem, you'll still have this money set aside to use on other things!
When we bought our property, the gas hot water system was 25 years old. Because of the money we had set aside as above, we could buy a solar hot water system for about $3,000 (no solar rebates at the time).
Paint is the cheapest facelift.
I have never met anyone who was satisfied with the job done by a professional painter. A careful amateur can do the job very well. Borrow a home handyman book from the library and all it will cost you is for the paint, sugar soap and equipment. Take it slowly and a room at a time.
Decluttering before you move makes it cheaper.
A few good possessions (instead of quantities of junky knick-knacks) will make the space look bigger, even if it's not!
Take the time to research the history/period of your house so that your decorating is well-informed.
Do up the front of your house last. An expensive 'look' encourages thieves.

Contributed by: Ellen Hrebeniuk

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Sell your unwanted stuff and achieve your dreams!

Simple Savings and Gumtree have changed my life! Whilst at uni as a mature age student, my then partner (now husband) and I bought our first home together. Although excited, I was also slightly terrified. I was a full time student commuting to a university two hours from home using public transport and now we had a mortgage!

This is when I found Simple Savings and started to use as many hints as I could. I also implemented everything my grandmother had either taught me or I had seen growing up. We started a vegetable garden, we collected rain water, we sold plants on Gumtree and everything we did helped us to live a comfortable life. The best thing I did was follow the advice from a uni friend and join Gumtree. It's been almost four years since I graduated and we have decluttered our home, been to Bali FIVE times on what we have earned in sales and are heading off to Bali again in November whilst I'm currently selling items to fund that trip too! It's the best thing we've done; some people find it time consuming but I've made it a part of our life. I love seeing someone getting an item that is of use to them rather than it ending up in landfill and we have a spacious, clean clutter-free home as a result!

Contributed by: Loz

There are plenty more decluttering tips in the Vault.

Kon Marie Method

In this newsletter we have talked about my methods of decluttering. But we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the god of decluttering: Kon Marie. Many of our members have been following Kon Marie's methods for some time and Beth is the best person to explain Kon Marie's genius to you.

Keep only what brings you joy

I am saving more than ever before thanks to a brilliant book which has helped me declutter and totally review my spending and shopping habits. I am using the KonMari method of tidying. The author gets us to review what we own, picking up every item and thinking about whether it 'sparks joy'. If it does, we can keep it, but it must have a place, a home where it lives. If it doesn't, then get rid of it.

She recommends that you learn how to do this by starting with your clothes. Find every top (excluding hanging blouses at this stage) that you own in the whole house and work out which ones 'spark joy', get rid of the others, then stack the kept ones nicely in one or two shelves or drawers (one for summer tops, one for winter tops).

Then do the same for all your 'bottoms' (trousers, jeans and so on). Try them on. If they don't fit nicely, donate them or chuck them.

Next is all your hanging space including every coat you've stored somewhere around the house, then socks, then underwear, then handbags, then extras (scarves, belts, hats), then special items like swimwear or ski gear (I think I did my pyjamas at this point because I had them stored with my swimmers), and lastly shoes.

Take your time, but be thorough as you process each category. By the time you have finished your clothing, you'll have a new sense about just how much money you waste on impulse buying. It becomes embarrassing to think about how much money you didn't need to spend, how much we get fooled into thinking something is right for us, but then we never wear it.

After that, she recommends searching the house for all the books you have. Some of us have way too many, but I have found that I can have sections of my house for the different types of books, and as I go through them, there are quite a few that get discarded along the way. Most have just gone straight into the recycling bin, as unless a book is less than three years old, or an absolute classic, even op shops can't sell them.

While you are hunting through the house, you'll find other stashes of things which embarrass the heck out of you. For me, I had to get a great big plastic storage bin and as I stumble across face creams, deodorants, shampoos and makeup, it all goes in the bin. I'm not trying to sort them yet, but it is obvious that when I finally get to that category, it is going to be much easier to sort through them and think honestly about which ones still 'spark joy' and which ones are so old that I'd never want them on my skin.

I will stop writing this novel at this point but if you have read this far and are still interested, please find 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying' by Marie Kondo, a young Japanese lady. There's also a second book applying the philosophy, entitled "Spark Joy".

Since I started on the process, my spending has dropped dramatically. I can suddenly see how many magazines I have bought and never read, how many items are in my pantry waiting for me to apply the $21 Challenge to make them into scrumptious healthy meals, how many art supplies I have bought and hidden in various cupboards around the house, how many jumpers I really didn't need...

I feel clearer, healthier, happier and richer in so many ways. I am so thankful that I stumbled on these books. Slowly the word spreads as my sister and friends become affected by my enthusiasm and start working through their cupboards as well. Life changing stuff!

Contributed by: Beth T

Competition Winners: What is your best water-saving tip?

Choosing the best water saving tips for this month's competition was a real challenge. I love reading everyone's stories and learning something new for each and everyone. This month's winners are Carmela B, Lorraine S, Margaret M, Susan T and Jane T. Each won $20.

If you missed out on this month's prizes, we are giving away two $50 prizes this month. The information is above.

The never ending water can

Keep a watering-can outside the backyard door.

If you empty the kettle every morning to refill it with fresh water. Empty the kettle into the watering-can.
If you boil eggs in a pot.When the water cools, empty the pot into the watering-can.
If someone leaves a glass of water from, say, the night before; empty the glass into the watering-can.

You'll be surprised how this so-called 'waste-water' piles up. You'll never have an empty watering-can. It beats throwing the water down the sink!

By having the watering-can just outside the backyard door, you won't get put off by having to go out far on a cold winter's morning.

You can power the planet on waste!

Contributed by: Carmela B

Catching the overflow from your hot water tank

Did you know that hot water systems automatically expel water from their overflow pipe. We questioned the plumber who installed the unit only to be told to read the unit information about our hot water system and we found that many, if not all tanks, pass out lots of water as a natural process. We have now removed our outlet pipe from the invisible system where the water just disappeared down the drain and we catch the water in an ice cream tub and put it on a rose tree which is close to the tank. We have been amazed at just how much water we are recycling.

Contributed by: Lorraine S

Living in a camper

We live in a slide-on camper travelling Australia so we use water frugally.

Just some of the many things we do:

I make my own sprouts and the rinsing water is used for cooking potatoes, rice, dried legumes, soup base, etc.
We don't shower every day and when we do we heat water in an old 10litre saucepan, that showers both of us easily.
Dirty dishes get wiped off with cut up old clothing rags, before washing, so less water is needed.
A spray bottle with a bit of detergent, sprayed onto non-greasy plates etc and then wiped with a rag works wonders.

Contributed by: Margaret M

Stretching every drop

We live on a property with no connection to town water and are completely dependent on tanks for our domestic water supply. I learned very quickly that there's nothing like watching the water level drop below half to make you aware of water usage! Because of this, we've always been careful with how much water we use, but after no rain for six weeks this summer I've started to get creative in how we reuse water.

My very handy hubby plumbed in a grey water system made of an old plastic drum for our washing machine (which only runs full loads on water saving cycle) and he's diverted the water from our bath/shower and basin through a pipe directly onto the lawn (check with council before you do this, in town grey water must be treated or bucketed out).

Inside, I leave the plug in the basin so my small daughters only use one sink of water to wash their hands all day and their very shallow bath water is used to clean the worst of the farm grime before we shower. Rinsing toothbrushes provides enough water to clean the basin at the end of the day.

My newest (and simplest) change is a 4L icecream container in the kitchen sink. It catches water from washing hands, rinsing cloths or cooking utensils, etc, and I then tip it into a 20L bucket to go on the garden. Some days I can fill the bucket 2 or 3 times! And all that water was running down the sink… Just seeing the wastage makes it so much easier to curtail.

Contributed by: Susan T

Sucking water from the air

With the recent bushfires near us, we have noticed a significant increase of wildlife, particularly birds, in our garden. It took a little while to realize they were increasing in numbers, and in need of water.

Our bird bath is filled by rain under normal weather patterns and takes around a whole good sized watering can of fresh water to fill it. I cannot justify filling it from the tap each time because of the cost and the drought.

However since dehumidifying our bedroom each day, we have a 10 litre bucket of water every 2 days, which we now use to fill the bird bath. We get a good sleep, and they get their thirst quenched. On the days when rain is available, we save the bucket water to pour into the watering can.

Contributed by: Jane T

Til next time...

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and if you know someone you think could do with a Vault membership, encourage them to apply to our Leg Up program.

If you have anything you would like to say or ask us please write to info@simplesavings.com.au

All the best,

Fiona

January 18th 2017 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Hello,

In our last newsletter, Pete said it takes him three days to earn enough to pay $80 for pizza. To this you may have thought the same thing as James; "Three days!?!" How can it possibly take an average wage earner so long to get ahead? Here’s how:

Three Days to Earn $80

If you are an average person working with a single income, average expenses and a mortgage it can take you a very long time to earn a small amount of spending money.

To show you how long it can take, we pulled together some numbers from various government websites such as the average spend per household from MoneySmart.gov.au, average mortgage repayments from yourmortgage.com.au, average pay according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics and how much tax you would pay on that amount from the Australian Tax Department.

Average Wage - $41 per hour income

Essential Spending - (per hour spend)

$10 on tax
$13 on mortgage
$1 on fuel and power
$5 on food and drink
$1 on clothing and footwear
$6 on transit
$2 on medical

Sub total - $38

Left Over - $3

So $38 of the $41 average earned per hour is gone on necessary living expenses. This leaves you earning only $3 disposable income for every hour worked.

This in turn means the average person working with an average family/couple with single income, average expenses and a mortgage will have to work 27 hours or three and a half days to earn $80 of disposable income.

Of course, this number changes for each individual depending on a range of factors, but you get the idea. That is how Pete and many others have to work three days in order to free up $80 for pizza. They just don’t realise it.

(Numbers used came from average mortage statistics and the Weekly Spend by Life Stage table at moneysmart.gov.au)

Let's look at the average pay rates around Australia and New Zealand.

Average hourly pay rates in Australia and New Zealand

Per hour

Per year

Tasmania

$35 AUD

$ 69,477 AUD

South Australia

$37 AUD

$ 73,757 AUD

Victoria

$38 AUD

$ 75,634 AUD

Queensland

$38 AUD

$ 75,936 AUD

New South Wales

$40 AUD

$ 80,132 AUD

Northern Territory

$41 AUD

$ 81,624 AUD

Western Australia

$45 AUD

$ 88,327 AUD

Capital Territory

$46 AUD

$ 89,846 AUD

New Zealand

$29 NZD

$57,710 NZD

If you would like to calculate how much "spending money" your household earns each hour, we will show you how in the next newsletter.

Great Tip: Our Profitable Pact

I rarely take my mobile phone with me so, more often than not, my husband can't reach me to ask if he can buy something. In the time it takes for me to listen to his message and get back to him, he has usually changed his mind about the purchase anyway!
If I have to call my husband before buying something frivolous, I choose not to simply because I don't want to justify buying a trashy magazine, a custard tart or an eBay bargain. I just do without, and I don't give it a second thought once I leave the shops or go offline.
We can give each other a second opinion on whether or not we really need to buy that item. One of us might know of a cheaper alternative, of someone who can lend us the item or even remember that we already have the item at home.

Our strict pact certainly works for us - we have paid $1,500 off our credit cards in the last three weeks!

Contributed by: Science Nerd

From the Forum: Preparing for Income Cut but not Lifestyle Cut

Forum member 'Price of a loaf of bread' knows just what she wants from life - and isn’t scared to make sacrifices to get it! This thread will have you thinking outside the square.

Preparing for income cut but not lifestyle cut

Bye for now

That’s all for this newsletter. If you have any questions, pop into our Forum where there are always tons of great people to lend an ear and help you out of a tight spot.

I look forward to catching up with you again in a few days.

All the best,
Fiona

P.S. Renewing Vault Memberships only costs $21 per year. Start the New Year off on the right foot!

January 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - January 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going 'Without'
February is No Spend Challenge!
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Feel Great About Not Spending!
Best of the Vault: No Spend Month Motivators
Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk
Homeopathy Corner: Grief and Trauma
From Last Month: Holiday Food for Hungry Teens
This Month's Help Request: Too Many Tomatoes
Savings Story: Working Mums Get the Balance Right

Hello,

How are you doing? I hope you haven't been affected by a flood, cyclone, earthquake, bushfire or a tornado this month. OK, well I don't think any of us had to battle a tornado! Jokes aside, I hope you are well. Simple Savings and our staffers pretty much escaped the floods unscathed. A few of us went without power or had extra house guests, but we are all well.

A couple of days ago, Matt, the kids and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. As we all gathered around the cake, Matt and I looked first at each other, then at the four excited faces staring at us, then back at each other - and realised those four adorable faces weren't there ten years ago. Simple Savings wasn't here ten years ago. It has been a very busy, exciting and fun ten years. Thank you for being part of it and coming on our journey with us. It has been a ball!

"To the team at Simple Savings, you guys are simply fantastic! I love, love, LOVE reading your newsletters, they are so inspiring. I may only be 17 years old but your tips are so useful even for me! I am currently saving for a deposit for my first home and I know that once I achieve that goal I can still use all your helpful hints to help me pay off my mortgage faster and keep loving a great life as a Simple Saver! You have so many tips and useful ideas that you should really write another book with lots of the stuff from your newsletters and the Vault in it! I know I would be one of the first to put an order in. Keep up the good work." (Jessica Kilsby)

"Just wanted to say thanks for always bringing me back on track. I've just had a read of the articles in the Vault for keeping credit card debt under control and immediately applied online for a low rate balance transfer for my current credit card debt. Repayment of the total balance will now occur sooner thanks to a very low interest rate for the first 18 months." (Kerry Bebendorf)

"Just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with your site. I have been receiving the free newsletters for a while now and finally bit the bullet and joined the Vault last night through your $37 special. I must say I wasn't sure about joining as there is so much great info and tips in the newsletter I was questioning myself if it would be worth it but I wanted to know what was hidden in there. Well I am so glad I joined. There is so much great stuff. I have spent nearly one whole day scouring the site. I love the Forum and all the hints and tips. I still have so much more to read. What a fantastic idea and I love the fact that many of your members are so pro-active by posting comments/replies and links to great deals. Thanks again and Happy New Year." (Wendy Ashcroft)

"I just wanted to let you know that we have recently survived the Brisbane floods. During the four days of being stranded in our home without power, I often thought of what a life changing experience your book and site has been. It was truly sad to feed the contents of our family meals to the chickens, but heartening to know that we will have eggs each day. When the power came on, we made some bread, and whilst others are without essentials our new focus on a simpler life means we will recover sooner than expected, and be back to replanting the garden. So, many thanks to helping us through the process." (Kim Aitken)

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going 'Without'

"Oh heck, we've run out of dip!" groaned Pete as he peered into the fridge. "Sal! Can you get some more French onion dip next time you go shopping?" "You'll have to wait a while!" grinned Sally. "It's No Spend Month remember? We can only buy what is absolutely essential - which doesn't include dip. Dip is a luxury item. Sorry!"

"Yes but it doesn't apply to me and my dip!" Pete said indignantly. "I don't need help to stop spending. You know I love French onion dip! It's my nightly treat. And it's such a small luxury. Can't we bend the rules a little? The kids don't need to know," he wheedled. "Oi! We heard that!" came two indignant voices from the lounge. "No chance, Dad. If we have to follow the rules, so do you!"

"Oh great," Pete rolled his eyes in defeat. "Guess that's it then. I'm going to have to go without for a whole month." "Honestly, Dad, don't be such a girl's blouse!" Sarah walked into the kitchen. She went to the pantry, grabbed a packet of French onion soup and a carton of sour cream and quickly mixed them together in a bowl. "Here's your dip. See - you don't have to go without," she winked. "Try thinking outside the square next time!"

2. February is No Spend Challenge!

Just like Pete, some of us have a very warped view of what is an essential item! We all have little luxuries which we claim we can't live without. Mine is tea (we grow our own coffee but not tea. Only because every time I go to buy a tea plant they've run out). Penny swears she can't function without her nightly glass of wine. But it's amazing what we can survive without when we try. The great thing about doing a No Spend Challenge is that it removes your blinkers and helps put things back into perspective. It helps you to distinguish between a want and a need and helps you to see how much money we throw away on things which frankly just don't matter.

What sort of luxury items do you confuse with being an 'essential?' Take a look at this list of examples. How many of them do you regularly buy that you could live without, if push came to shove?

Takeaway food of any sort, including coffee
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Clubs (for example, music and book clubs)
Frozen dinners
Movies or DVDs
Games
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol
Online shopping
eBay / Trade Me
Perfume and make-up
Plants and garden decorations
Haircuts
Raffle tickets and Lotto
Alcohol and other drugs
Bottled water
Hardware

And so the list goes on. Last time we drew up this list we had people handing it round the office. What were essentials? What couldn't people go without? Everyone's responses were different. 'But I need my weekly magazines for the puzzles'... 'Nope, couldn't go without dip'... 'You mean you can make dip?' Yes, Pete isn't the only one who didn't know you could make dip! I used to think that if you wanted dip you had to buy it in a tub from the supermarket. Especially hommus. Now I am older and wiser and know I can make it myself from basic and much cheaper ingredients. This is one of the great things about No Spend Month; it teaches us to look outside the square. It teaches us to be creative. It forces us to use our brains. It helps us to break our addictions (yes, even the SS team!).

So this month, take a good look at the list above and see what you can go without during February. Even if you don't take part in the No Spend Challenge, look at the list and ask yourself 'Do I need these things? Or do I just want them?' Think about what you normally spend on these items and how much money you could save in a single month if you went without them. The No Spend Challenge is an opportunity to re-assess your life. We think so many things are important when in truth, they just aren't.

Make sure you write in and tell us how your No Spend Challenge went! We would love to hear how much you managed to save and the changes you made. The No Spend Challenge has become an annual favourite among Simple Savers. If you want a good laugh, read through our No Spend Challenge newsletters of old! They continue great information about how to succeed on your challenge, some lovely articles by Sophie Gray, brilliant blogs by Penny and the Sally and Hanna stories are hilarious.

January 2008 - http://new.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2008/1/

February 2009 - http://new.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2009/2/

January 2010 - http://new.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2010/1/

Don't forget you can track your success with our free Savings Diary!

One of the great things about No Spend Month is that it's a fantastic way to save a truckload of money in just one month. How do we know this? So far, 4771 people have logged their savings in our free Savings Diary. Keeping a Savings Diary is a very important part of this challenge because it will show you how well you are going and help to keep you motivated. You will be able to look at it and say, 'WOW! Look at that! I saved $3000 this month. My gosh, I never realised I had been wasting that much money!'

You can make your own savings diary with a little note book, or you can use our online version which is free for all subscribers. No personal information such as bank details is given in this diary; it is simply a place to record what you spend each day and what you spent it on.

If you need more information come and join us in the Vault. There are 14,000 money saving tips to be found there and the Forum is always buzzing. If you have struggled to save money in the past, this is the place to go to keep you focused and moving in the right direction.

If you would like to become a member of the Savings Vault, it costs $47 to join for the first year and just $21 to renew each year. We also have a 365 day no questions asked guarantee, so if you do not like our members' area (as if! *grin*), you can have your money back. As an extra bonus for Vault members, we have also introduced gift memberships at a special price. From now on, if you are a current Vault member you can give your friends or family a full year of membership for just $21! Click here to order.

3. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Kitty for her post '23 days alcohol free - one day it will be 23 days debt free too!' taken from her blog 'Debt free in five years'. It just goes to show what you can achieve when you start choosing needs over wants!

23 days alcohol free - one day it will be 23 days debt free too!

23 days alcohol free. Nearly at the end of the month and although there have been plenty of chances to raise a toast and have a glass of something, I have lost the urge completely. I just wanted to prove to myself that I have discipline in one thing! That one thing spreads to other things, hopefully!

It seems to take about one month to form a good new habit and the savings habit is almost that old too. Seems I also have developed a morning blog habit too. This seems to set my mind on track to make plans for each day. Putting something down in writing is making a commitment. No-one will judge my success or failure, but I know that I have told someone else, and that counts.

It is not easy to achieve a long term goal. Lots of us sign up for gym memberships, diets, investment schemes, etc at the beginning of the year and not many last out the first month, or even the first week. We are told that our aims are too ambitious and that we should aim lower and then build up. I don't agree with that. If we aim low and fail it is too easy to say, it didn't really matter after all!

Here's a few sobering facts:

Most people do not (or are unable to) save enough for a comfortable retirement
Most working couples would not be capable of living on the age pension (less than $26,000 pa)
Very few of us exist without the use of credit cards and other short term debts
Many of us eat too much, drink too much, smoke or indulge in habits which are harmful to our long term health

So, here is the plan. Hubby and I have set a five year plan in action. At the end of that period, we will be debt free, or as close to that as possible. We will have worked hard on our home-based business and it will be a saleable asset. We will sell that, and also by then our modest super will have increased. Then we will downsize, sell our home and buy a smaller, new one, with room to park a caravan. We then store all our belongings, rent out this home for 12 months while we travel all over, becoming grey nomads. After that, we will return, and invest some of our savings into starting up another micro business, until retirement age. (Another 5 year stint)

I could say, we will just do this until we are at retirement age, but I think 10 years is too long to see a reward, and the striving isn't intense enough to have meaning. I think unless every day is a challenge, you don't make progress. It has to be tough to make us stronger!

By the way - I have a break even figure on my computer where I record every transaction. The break even figure is current super value plus savings minus debt. Today's figure is -$83,094. That means, if we cashed the super and paid out the debt we would still owe the above figure. We should get to 0 after about 2 years. Sweet!

Congratulations Kitty, keep up the great work! To read more from Kitty, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

4. Best of the Forum: Feel Great About Not Spending!

There's no need to spend money to have the good life. Read how these members get through on limited funds and feel good about it in these inspiring threads from our Savings Forum.

Help me to stop spending

Danielle is looking for areas to stop spending as she analyses her family's expenses.
read more...

My personal no-spend challenge

Emma has made it public - she wants to stop spending! She wants to be accountable for every cent she spends so she has announced it in the Forum. Brilliant idea!
read more...

No spend fortnight

Judy is overwhelmed by a whole month of no spending so she attempts a no spend fortnight instead. Will her husband's DVD addiction get in the way?
read more...

Our no spend Valentine's picnic

Who says you have to spend money to be romantic? Yazza_Mattazz and her husband plan the perfect Valentine's Day picnic in this fun thread.
read more...

5. Best of the Vault: No Spend Month Motivators

No Spend Month might sound tough but it is one of the most popular challenges among Simple Savers because it's so rewarding. Here are some of our favourite tips from the Vault to get you in the mood for NOT spending!

Hubby gets into No Spend

After finally managing to convince my husband to try No Spend Month, he still needed a little encouragement. So I stick pictures of the 'dream things' he wants on the fridge, so every time he goes there he can see what we're doing this for.

After a bit of whinging about how stupid and hard it all was, he has finally come around and we now have No Spend Month every month! He didn't even spend money on my birthday present and made me some yummy cupcakes with ingredients already in the cupboard! I guess he really wants that fishing boat!

Contributed by: Joelene Watson

Re-acquaint yourself with your wardrobe

Before you hit the shops to splurge on a new wardrobe, check what you already have first! For a shopaholic like me who loves to buy clothes, shoes and accessories, this tip is essential to saving money. Every few months I find myself whingeing that I have nothing to wear, but determined not to spend any more money, I spend a few hours going through my clothes and re-acquainting myself with them. I soon realise I actually have clothes to wear and with the addition of some $2.00 accessories from bargain stores and a little experimenting with combinations, I end up with a whole new look for less than $20!

Contributed by: Jackie Woods

Purse-free, clutter-free

Leave your purse behind and stop buying things - it works for me. During my work breaks I would go out to the shops at least a few times a week and I find myself buying the odd magazine, getting a few groceries or just buying stuff. I would always take my lunch from home so it wasn't lunch purchases, this was more like the 'clog up your life with stuff' stuff.

One day I decided not to carry my purse with me to the shops, that way I could not spend what I didn't have. Now I just look around instead of shopping around. And it works - I find I spend so much less! I get back to work and have second thoughts about buying those things that just minutes before, I had felt were so important to buy.

Even when meeting a friend for the odd coffee I now take just enough money from my purse and put it in my pocket; again purse-free and I can't spend what I don't have. Guaranteed to work every time!

Contributed by: Sonya Gibson

More tips for Vault members:

Time well spent Contributed by: Karen Mcaulley

No-spend recipe scrapbook Contributed by: Corrie Bovenkamp

Ho ho ho! Happy no-spend Christmas! Contributed by: Kerriann

Calendar budget tracker keeps spending on right page Contributed by: Nedina Davies

6. Cooking with Mimi

The long term effects of the recent floods that have devastated many areas of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria are yet to be felt by those of us not directly involved.

One thing is for certain. The big supermarket chains will have to make some tough decisions on whether they stock local produce, some of which will be 'imperfect' and blemished, or whether to continue supplying consumers with the 'perfect' product we've come to expect, by importing our fruit and vegetables.

I grew up on a farm, and my vote would be for local produce, however blemished or imperfect. There are many ways of utilising produce that is less than pretty, by preserving, stewing, and turning it into jams, chutneys and relishes.

Maybe it's time to rediscover these old arts, using that which is still highly nutritious, but perhaps not as good-looking and shiny as we've come to expect in the modern supermarket era.

One way of turning a bowl of less than perfect fruit into a delicacy worthy of any table is by making your own jam. The bottles of brightly coloured spreads in the supermarket are far from real 'jam'. Once you've made your own, there'll be no turning back and the Jams and Spreads aisle will become another one you'll never need venture down again!

Jam making is as easy as 1-2-3. One kilo of diced and deseeded fruit, two lemons, and three cups of sugar are the only ingredients you'll need. You can use any combination of fruit in season, in any condition. Of course you can halve, double or triple those quantities, according to how much fruit you have on hand.

Seven Fruit Jam with Coconut and Vanilla

This is a microwave recipe and one kilogram of fruit is as much as you can conceivably microwave at one time without making a huge mess... take my experienced word for it!

Equipment required:

One large, deep microwave-safe bowl or jug, around 1.5-2 litre capacity
Sharp vegetable knife for dicing and deseeding fruit
Several sterilised recycled jars with the type of metal lid that has a little pop-up button in the centre. See note for sterilising instructions.
Measuring cups
Potato masher
A chilled saucer and spoon for testing jam done-ness. Just pop them in the refrigerator before you start.

NOTE: To sterilise jars, wash well in hot, soapy water. Rinse in hot water. If they have a residual smell from the original contents, a teaspoon of vanilla essence in the rinse water will help disperse it. Do not dry with a tea towel. Put the oven on the lowest setting and place the jars upside down on a baking tray. Stand the lids, leaning on the jars. Leave until dry, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

Ingredients:

1kg fruit, deseeded, and diced. (I leave grapes and blueberries whole and mash them a little with a potato masher. For this particular batch I used blueberries, seedless green grapes, passionfruit, a nectarine, plums that had gone soft, some leftover tinned cherries, and a couple of sad looking strawberries.)
2 lemons, halved
3 cups raw sugar

Optional for this particular recipe:

1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
2 tsp coconut essence

Method:

Place the fruit into the microwave-safe container. Mash any berries or smaller fruit a little with the potato masher.

Juice the lemon halves and add the juice and the empty lemon halves to the fruit.

Add the sugar and stir well.

Microwave on high for 10 minutes at a time, stirring every five minutes.

After the second blast of 10 minutes, test the jam. Place a spoonful of jam onto the chilled saucer and allow to cool for a minute or two. Push it with the spoon, If it wrinkles like a piece of Cling Wrap, it's ready to bottle. If not, continue to cook on high for a further five minutes at a time, checking after each blast of five minutes. Depending upon the microwave, this can take up to 40 minutes altogether. Be careful as the jam will be very, very hot.

Once cooked, add the optional ingredients if you wish and allow to cool slightly.

Spoon the warm jam carefully into the sterilised jars. Fill the jars almost to the top, then screw the lid on very firmly and turn them upside down on the kitchen bench for five minutes. This creates a vacuum to seal the jars correctly for storing and makes the little pop-up button, pop 'in' as they cool.

Label with the date and a description and store in a cool place.

Home-made jam makes a great addition to a gift hamper and, along with a few other home-made goodies, gives you an endless supply of teacher, thank you and impromptu presents.

Mimi's Mum's Lush Home-Made Chocolate Syrup

Easter is not far away, and already the foil wrapped goodies are making an appearance in the stores. Why not do things differently this year? A bottle of this chocolate syrup with a hand decorated glass in a basket with a big ribbon on it would put a smile on anyone's face.

Makes 750ml

Equipment required:

Measuring cups
Dessertspoon
Teaspoon
Whisk
Large microwave-safe jug or bowl, at least 1.5 litre capacity
Sterilised recycled bottle or bottles for storing (sweet chilli sauce, tomato sauce and soy sauce bottles are all ideal). See previous notes on sterilising.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups raw sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups water
3 tsp vanilla extract or essence

Method:

Combine the sugar and cocoa in the microwave-safe jug using the whisk. Whisk in the water until combined well and smooth. Microwave on high for four minutes, whisking every one minute.

Allow to cool and stir in the vanilla.

Pour into prepared bottles. Date and label for future use or gift giving. Keeps indefinitely in a cool place or in the refrigerator.

It's important to be able to survive on staples in our pantries in times of ill health, unemployment, unexpected expenses or, as it has occurred recently, times of natural disaster.

A well stocked kitchen cupboard is a true asset and one that shouldn't just be considered a Simple Savings strategy, but a sensible living strategy too.

Pantry Salad

Here's a fantastic, quick salad, using only pantry items, that's tasty enough as a meal on its own, as a side dish to take to a barbecue or a great healthy lunch for the kids' lunch boxes.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish, 4 as a meal

Equipment required:

Large strainer or colander
Large spoon
Small jug
Teaspoon
Small whisk or fork
Container or bowl

Ingredients:

1 tin beans or bean mix, for example, borlotti beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans or bean mix, drained well and rinsed in a strainer until the frothing subsides.
1 tin corn kernels, drained well
1 large tin of tuna or chicken in brine, drained well
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp honey, sugar or maple syrup

Method:

Tip all tinned ingredients into a large bowl and mix well with a spoon.

Put the remaining ingredients into a small jug and whisk with a fork or tiny whisk until combined.

Tip the dressing over the salad and mix well.

Refrigerate for one hour before serving to allow the flavours to develop.

This salad keeps well for up to four days, refrigerated and covered.

To vary, add to tossed salad leaves, add bacon or diced deli meat, or serve over baked potatoes.

7. Penny's Blog: Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk

January 28th

Lately it appears I've had more in common than I'd like with one of my favourite movie characters, Austin Powers. For starters, we're both British, have crooked front teeth and share the same disturbing penchant for toilet humour. However, just as Austin famously lost his 'mojo', lately I appear to have lost mine. My money saving mojo that is. I guess with everything that's been going on the past few months it's impossible to be all things to all people. When the kids don't think they are getting enough attention they throw a tantrum. Come to think of it, when the husband doesn't think he's getting enough attention he throws an even worse tantrum! But unlike my family, my money saving mojo doesn't throw a tantrum or demand immediate attention. It just skulks in the corner, watching you make stupid mistakes, watching you throw good money away and saying nothing. Until one day you check the bank balance and almost have heart failure. 'Where's all the money gone? Eek, someone must have hacked into my bank account! Quick, check the transactions!' And realise to your dismay that there is no hacker. The only saboteur is you.

And you sit there, staring at the evidence in black and white, kicking yourself for every stupid thing you could have done differently. At which point there's not much you can do. There's no point beating yourself up; you just have to dust yourself off and move on. I've been through the scenario enough times to know! But one thing I've learned is that it's not hard to get your money saving mojo back. That's the stupid thing. As Fiona has said all along, saving money is SO easy when you know how. And I do know how - so I'd better get to it!

Of course the great thing about being Simple Savers is that we know how to save money faster than anyone else. Whilst other poor souls are struggling with complicated budgets and losing sleep because they don't know where to start saving, we just throw ourselves headlong into fun stuff like the $21 Challenge or No Spend Month. So that's exactly where our family is going to start next week. In fact, we're going to do both at once!

What I both love and hate about No Spend Month is that it makes you cringe sooo badly. Every time you fill in the Savings Diary and the little box which says 'Essential' next to each purchase doesn't get ticked I feel like a total plonker. No matter how small and insignificant the amount is, if it's not classified as essential when I enter it in the diary I feel like a failure. It's such a huge wake up call when you are forced to be accountable for the number of times you get sucked in every day! It's great for the kids too. They both have jobs and earn their own money and while it's not a huge amount, what they do with it is up to them. Most of the time they do pretty well; now we don't live near any major shopping centres all the big 'wants' such as video games have disappeared off their lists. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of their hard earned cash goes on Koola Bear frozen drinks and macadamia nut cookies from Subway! So they will be taking part in No Spend Month too and I think they will be surprised at how much their bank balances will have increased by the end of it.

As for the $21 Challenge, what can I say that hasn't already been said? What I love about the $21 Challenge is that every time you do it, it reminds you exactly what you are capable of. My favourite chapter of the book is actually Chapter 2, firstly because it was so unexpected; Fiona and I never dreamed the benefits of doing the Challenge would be so huge or so many but also because Chapter 2 acts as a memory trigger. I see what other people are achieving and it reminds me of what I have also been able to achieve in my own household and makes me strive to do it again. What with the Challenge AND No Spend Month, I reckon my mojo will be back to full power in no time!

Actually, for the first time ever it was Noel who suggested we do the $21 Challenge! So there you have it; for all the women who complain that their husbands would never let them do a $21 Challenge in a million years, you may be surprised! I can't say I blame him though; even with our extra storage shelves in the garage our tiny pantry is a total mess yet again. We can't find anything, we can't see anything, it's just a big jumble. So we're doing the Challenge to help us unearth what the heck is lurking in there and use it up so we can make some space and restore a little order.

One thing that Noel and I have both wondered out loud is that now we have achieved our dream of living in Whangamata and our lives (apart from the obvious as outlined in the last couple of posts) have become so much easier, am I going to run out of things to blog about? I would like to think not; I think it's purely because we've lost our mojo over the last month or two. When it comes to saving money there is always more you can do. Look at Lynda Hallinan, the author of NZ Gardener - she's inspired half of NZ to 'get growing' from her vegetable patch in urban Auckland. Moving to the beach is no excuse. If she can do it, so can we!

January 2011

8. Homeopathy Corner: Grief and Trauma

Hardly a day goes by without a disaster making headlines somewhere in the world - they are an inescapable part of life and whether natural or manmade have always been with us.

Disasters cause physical and mental traumas. This month Fran shares with us economical remedies that homeopaths use around the world to help people through these tragic events.

To read Fran's article go to:- homeopathyplus.com.au/first-response-homeopathy-remedies-to-use-in-a-disaster

9. From Last Month: Holiday Food for Hungry Teens

Last month Jennifer asked:

"Help! School holidays are here and I'm already being eaten out of house and home by hordes of active teenage boys! They are all great kids who love hanging out at our place and I don't want to make them feel unwelcome, but constantly feeding extras is really hurting my food budget. I don't feel as though I can feed my own children and not the others when they are around so I always end up giving in and making food for everybody. If I tell them to fend for themselves for lunch they simply go into town and waste their money on takeaway, my kids included! Does anyone have any suggestions for cheap fillers I can have on hand or whip up quickly so we can all save money?"

Wow! This request received one of the biggest responses ever! Unfortunately there's no way we can print every tip we received but a big thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute. Don't forget there are also heaps of terrific snack suggestions in the $21 Challenge book too! *cheeky grin*

Super cheap noodles from Asian store

It pays to check out your local Asian supermarket if you have hungry teens to feed! My local store sells big packs of 30 two-minute style noodles for under $15. They are tastier than the ones from the supermarket; a little more spicy. At less than $0.50c per pack, even when my teenage son cooks up three packs at a time for a snack, they're still cheap!

Contributed by: Wendy Pryor

Send hungry teens to the supermarket

If you are being eaten out of house and home by hordes of teenagers and you know that they have money and can afford takeaway, why not suggest to them that they pool some of their money and send them into town to purchase some of the following to bring home and cook/eat?

A couple of loaves of fresh bread
A dozen bread rolls
1kg mince meat or sausages
Bottle of tomato sauce
2 litres of ice cream
A box of icy poles
2 litre bottles of soft drink
1kg grapes or other fruit
Large packet potato chips

All of these could be purchased on special from the supermarket and are much cheaper than buying individual takeaways!

Contributed by: Margaret Gray

Stock up and they won't starve

Trust me, teenage boys aren't useless and they will never starve! When I had teenage boys boarding with me I found the best thing was to go to the supermarket about half an hour before closing time. All the bakery goods were reduced to $0.50c each and I would bulk buy for the freezer. This way I always had heaps of bread, rolls, cakes and buns ready to eat whenever. I also stocked up on tinned goods (on sale) that could be made into Jaffles or toasted sandwiches. I bulk bought the cheapest two-minute noodles I could find and would just use stock powder if no flavour sachets were included. I also showed them how to make their own pancakes and fritters. Once they learned that, they became pretty adept at helping themselves!

Contributed by: Bronnie Cartledge

Simple food and plenty of it for happy teens

When feeding teenagers I find that they don't want fussy food - and unfussy food is always quick and cheap! I make a whole batch of mini pizzas and cocktail sausage rolls from scratch. I have a bread machine which is really quick and easy to use. With a single batch of pizza dough I can make up to 70 mini pizzas and with one tin of sausages and two sheets of frozen puff pastry, I can make up to 80 cocktail size sausage rolls. Teens love this kind of food!

Contributed by: Ruth Barringham

Keep teens well fed with leftovers

I also constantly have a houseful of teenage boys, even though only one of my own is still living at home! I manage by getting creative with leftovers. For example, the leftover Christmas turkey became roast turkey and gravy rolls, turkey and salad sandwiches and finally, diced into a pasta sauce with some vegies from the garden. There was absolutely no waste. I buy almost everything on special, so two loaves of grain and wholemeal bread (low G.I. - keeps them full for longer!) for $4.00, a bottle of pasta sauce for $1.50 and a bag of pasta for $0.69c made the above meals very affordable.

A dozen eggs for $2.50 will make six good-sized omelettes. Add in a sprinkling of bacon, a little grated cheese and two slices of grain toast each and you have a hearty meal that will keep them satisfied for ages. A bag of rolled oats for $0.99c will form the basis of a mountain of Anzac biscuits and those soft bananas in the fruit bowl make great banana muffins. I recently bought a 2kg bag of potatoes for $2.00 and made baked, stuffed potatoes using a little bacon, onion, grated carrot, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese and a touch of light sour cream. The boys love these and I used the leftover salad to make chicken burgers the next day.

I only have water to drink, so there's no cost for soft drinks, cordial and so on and as a commercial cookery teacher of many years, I have observed that behaviour is greatly enhanced by the absence of these beverages. Having said that, if I have the opportunity to purchase milk cheaply, milkshakes are a great filler and the protein will keep them satisfied. Rice pudding made with low G.I. basmati rice is another favourite. You might be interested to know that I insist on the boys cleaning the dishes and also on them taking turns to help with the preparation. It's a win-win situation as they're learning both social and life skills and I don't feel as though I'm a slave to someone else's children!

Contributed by: Fiona Flanders

Sneak more vegies into your teenage male!

A good stretcher for lunch or dinner is savoury mince. Simply brown some mince and onion, then add whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. A tin of baked beans will stretch it out, and a little Mexican chilli powder will vary the flavour. Any sauce bottles with just the last bit in the bottom can be rinsed out into the mix to add flavour too. Serve on toast with pasta or rice or mashed potato. A little grated cheese on top is nice and might distract the teenage male from noticing that there may be more vegetables than meat in his savoury mince!

Contributed by: Gwen Stanyer

Bread cases make great teenage hunger busters

Nothing beats bread cases for filling up hungry teens. So cheap and versatile! Great for using up that day- or two-day-old bread that's no longer sandwich worthy. Makes a great lunch box filler too! To make, simply cut the crusts off each slice of bread and spread the squares with butter or margarine. Place butter side down into a muffin pan and bake at 180C for around eight minutes until crisp. Once cooked, fill with your favorite topping, sprinkle with cheese and bake again until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted. Favourite topping ideas include tinned spaghetti, baked beans, bacon and egg, leftover bolognese sauce, in fact leftover anything really!

Contributed by: Y Lane

Teach teenagers how to use the breadmaker

My husband and I are raising five hungry sons. When they all lived at home it was easy to fall into the trap of 'instant' food for them as they tend to graze constantly. However, I taught the boys to keep the bread maker going all the time, so that when one loaf was cooked and cooling on the bench (not for long) the kid on the spot threw together the batch of ingredients to start the next loaf. Biscuits and cake do not fill hungry teens up but a constant supply of home-made bread does!

Contributed by: Melanie Jones

Frugal and filling food for teens

When feeding hungry teenagers, go for food that is filling and can be made with whatever leftovers you have in the fridge. American-style muffins are a great option - try this recipe from taste.com.au:

taste.com.au/recipes/368/savoury+texas+muffins

It's worth reading the comments at the bottom of the recipe for great ideas on variations on the recipe too.

Pies are another way to use leftovers for a filling meal for teenage boys - and you don't have to use much meat if you want to keep the cost down; just make sure there are plenty of vegies, especially starchy ones like potatoes or sweet potato. In warm weather, you can probably also take advantage of the BBQ and fill them up on plain old BBQ sausages in bread. Always a big hit with teens!

Contributed by: Anita Coia

If they're hungry, they'll eat healthy!

When feeding extra kids, keep it simple. Often kids are 'hungry' for junk. However, carrot sticks with dip, cut up apples with cheese and general fruit and crackers are always a surefire hit. If they are hungry they'll eat it and not notice it's healthy. If not they stop asking and keep playing!

Contributed by: Rita Williams

Super duper bumper breakout box for Vault members!

Budget-friendly, teen-friendly snacks Contributed by: Kerrie Patrick

Fill teenage tummies quickly with scones Contributed by: Sindy Schmidt

Feed the crowds with Quick Fried Rice Contributed by: Adi Ryan

Souper filling food for teenagers Contributed by: Veronica Collins

Healthy home made wedges with zing Contributed by: Renee Denham

Stick to your guns when feeding extras Contributed by: Yvette Markham

Avoid teens eating you out of house and home Contributed by: Leeanne Giffin

Economical baked bean nachos Contributed by: Michelle Walker

Hungry teenagers? No problem! Contributed by: Mel Burgess

Quick links to easy snacks Contributed by: Trublue

10. This Month's Help Request: Too Many Tomatoes

This month Kathryn asks:

Do you have a simple solution to Kathryn's excess tomato problem? You can send them in to us here.

11. Savings Story: Working Mums Get the Balance Right

I have been receiving your free newsletter for a few years now and have really enjoyed the information you share. Recently, however, I have noticed a trend towards the opinion that 'it is cheaper to be a stay-at-home-mum' and I wanted to share my experience.

I agree that it is important to empower families to find ways to have a parent at home to care for young children. There is no compensation for missing out on important milestones of our children, not to mention handing over our kids for someone else to care for and raise for vast portions of the day. Raising children is a parent's most important task! However, as a mother who now works part time I would offer a word of caution for your consideration. Women constantly judge one another for the choices other women make when it comes to parenting style and whether to work or not. We tear each other apart with our judgments. As a young stay-at-home-mum it took me a while to realise that other choices were not 'wrong' and that I was not 'right'. We just do things differently.

For me, working has not altered my ability to continue with money-saving practices and has actually saved us money. Let me share with you some examples:

I work at my children's school. I only make one trip to and from school each day that I work, instead of two, which saves us money on petrol.
Because I work, I am less inclined to go out for lunch or a cuppa with my friends.
I continue to cook healthy meals from fresh, raw ingredients. If I am too tired my girls (who are 13 and 14 years old) are all too happy to help. I usually plan for one of them to cook a whole meal every couple of weeks. This way they are also learning vital living skills.
My girls do a lot of our baking, ensuring that they always have lunch box snacks for school.
My wardrobe for work crosses over with what I wear when I'm at home. Therefore I do not require expensive 'work only' clothing.
I continue to menu plan. I began this practice in 1999 and for some silly reason have kept them all! I use previous year's plans as inspiration.
I combine errands to do in one trip. We live in a semi-rural area, a half hour drive from the suburbs. We have a weekly trip down there for a kid's activity so I drop them off and get all my grocery shopping and other errands done in one evening. This saves me so much time and petrol. But it also means I'm not having to dash up the street for this, that and the other thing during the week.
Working also means I don't have much time to shop. If it doesn't fit into my one weekly trip, it just doesn't happen. A huge money saver!

As you can see, being a working mum does not have to mean our family spends more money or makes less financially efficient choices. Even when I worked four very full days each week (last year) I was able to maintain the things that are important to us, as listed above.

Thanks again for sharing ways that we can be good stewards of our resources. You do a great job!

Tracy Williams

January 2013 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - January 2013

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Sally Kicks a Goal!
January: See it, Be it!
Hidden Gems: Mills Markets, Daylesford
Best Members' Blog: Out With the Old, In With the New
Best of the Forum: 2013 is the Year To...
Best of the Vault: Inspire Me!
Cooking with Mimi: Barbecue-Ready Stuffed Marshmallow Aliens
Claire's Corner: Chapter 2013
50c Indulgences: The Gift Called Christmas
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Planning Out the Year to Come
Homeopathy Corner: 'How to' for Cough and Flu
From Last Month: Starting a Non-Profit Organisation
This Month's Help Request: Yeast and Wheat-Free
Savings Story: Well Done, Briget!
Goodbye, Goodbye

Hello,

Happy New Year! We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and a great rest. We have been having fun travelling from beach to beach and relative to relative. It has been a lovely holiday. Now we are getting ready to leap into 2013 by sending January's newsletter early ;-)

This year we are following the 2013 Simple Savings calendar. If you haven't already gotten yourself a copy, click here.

There are some new monthly challenges our Vault members wanted to try, and look out on the Forum and Facebook for our daily dose of inspiration.

It's been a big, big year at Simple Savings and we thank you for your support and fantastic feedback. Here are a few of our favourite messages:

"We had our first street party here last Saturday night after using your encouragement and invitations. We printed off 15 and delivered them to the surrounding houses. Seven households ended up attending and so many said, 'Thank you for organising this! It's great!' They are all really keen to do it again next year and block off the cul de sac (this year we had it in our side yard)." (Kath Olliffe)

"I would like to take this opportunity to express my love for your site and the difference it has made to my family and I. Thank you. Each day I learn something from this site. I believe I also have become a better person because of all the giving and sharing that takes place in the Forum. You cannot but feel inspired and also not want to be involved in some way by support, suggestions or in helping others once you start reading the Forum. This is such a wonderful outreach for the whole community, not only in the savings area. Thank you and merry Christmas from a grateful subscriber." (Jan B)

"Thank you for all you do with Simple Savings. I'm still learning and slowly making changes. I feel well supported and the response to any of my queries is always helpful and gracious. I take every opportunity to promote SS as it is an important part of my life now. Wishing you a very merry Christmas." (Jane, ACT)

"Going to have a 'Simple Savings' Christmas this year!" (Elise)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. Please note Ye Olde Shoppe will re-open 21st January.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Sally Kicks a Goal!

"Detail Sally - you need lots of detail to give you as much inspiration as possible," Hanna enthused as she and Sally glued pictures on their already cluttered vision boards. "I think I've got the hang of it," said Sally, "Look, I've even found a picture of my perfect bathroom sink for our renovations!"

Pete couldn't help himself any longer and sidled over to look over their shoulders. "What on earth are you two doing? Aren't you a bit old to be doing school projects?" he laughed. Sally rolled her eyes at Hanna and said to him very patiently, "Pete, we are setting our goals for next year by making visualisation boards. We look for pictures of how we want our life to be and stick them on the board." Pete couldn't contain himself now and guffawed out loud, "Seriously? Does that work?"

Hanna held up her board. "Of course it does, Pete. That is how I lost five kilos this year." Sally looked excited as she showed Pete her board. "Yes. And, I want to do the same. See, here is a picture of me when I was skinny." Pete laughed. "But, Sally you were only 17 in that picture." "Yes," smiled Sally "AND, soon I will be 17 again. I can already feel my wrinkles disappearing."

2. January: See it, Be it!

If this is the first time you have ever heard of a vision board, sit down and let me tell you ALL about it. They are a tool to help you STOP and THINK about things. The way they work is they encourage you to look at all different areas of your life and choose the direction you want your life to take. For example:

If you want to be thinner, you would stick a photo of your thinner self on your vision board.
If you want your bank account to be fatter, write down how much money you would like to have in your bank account and stick that on your board.
If you would like a new bathroom, place a photo of your dream bathroom on your board.
If you would like a different job, place a photo of the job you truly want on your vision board.
If you want to learn to cook, stick photos of the dishes you would like to learn on your vision board.
If you want to learn to knit, put photos of the items you would like to make.

It is that simple, and that is what we want you to do this month. This year we are following the themes of the calendar. If you haven't downloaded yours yet, here it is...

So let's get started.

Write down a list of ten things you would like to improve about your life.
Find some pictures online or in magazines that will remind you of your goals.
Stick them on a piece of cardboard, in a Word document or in a book.
Then tadaa! You are done. You have made yourself a vision board which will help steer you towards your goals in 2013.

Your vision board is the ultimate memory trigger. So place it somewhere you will see it every day to make 2013 a great year!

3. Hidden Gems: Mills Markets, Daylesford

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members source the best deals in their area. This month's Hidden Gem is Mill Markets, Daylesford, Victoria as nominated by Lynne M.

"The Mill Markets at Daylesford is a huge second hand shop in the back streets of Daylesford. It's open seven days a week from 10am to 6pm. The Markets are filled with multiple stallholders selling an enormous array of goods. It is the best place for quality recycled clothing, shoes, bags, jewellery and so on for the whole family, from vintage to modern styles at very low prices. There are household goods from every era including vintage and retro furniture, old tools, boxes and tins. There are also antiques and collectables at far cheaper prices than major city antique shops (and the shops in Daylesford's main street!). You can browse at your own pace with no pressure and there are friendly staff walking the floor if you need assistance - they even ask if they can carry your selections to the counter so you can keep browsing in comfort! I have been there a number of times and it is always changing. There is even a small cafe and restrooms. You can often catch a great special if a stallholder is closing down - crazy prices just to clear their stall. It's a great place to bag a bargain - I love it!"

Where: 105 Central Springs Rd, Daylesford Vic 3460
Contact: (03) 5348 4332 daylesford@millmarkets.com.au
Information: http://www.millmarkets.com.au/locations/daylesford

Well done, Lynne on locating such a fantastic Hidden Gem and thanks so much for sharing.

4. Best Members' Blog: Out With the Old, In With the New

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a cash prize of $100 each month for your Simple Savings Blog! Starting your own Blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Bruce/Tracey D for this insight into female shoe shopping!

Miss2 was hell today, very whingey and demanding, and Tracey thinks this was somehow my fault. It all started because a school shoe of Miss9's blew out yesterday, leaving her with one sole flapping about like a fish on land. Meanwhile I was home sick today, nursing myself back to good health curled up on the lounge watching Toy Story 2.

Now you might see these two things as unrelated, but you would be wronger than a man in a marriage. Because of the shoe blow out, this morning Tracey made a mad dash to the shopping centre to buy new ones. Because there was a 'buy one pair, second pair half price' deal Tracey saw an opportunity to save money. Not. Tracey saw an opportunity to buy more shoes.

Gleefully checking her purse to see how many credit cards she had on her, she gave the girls their sizes and instructions and sent them hurtling through the shop looking for something suitable. Within a minute, Miss5 was back with her new shoes on her feet. They were pink with two inch heels and her little feet barely made it out of the toe box.
"Um, I don't think..."
"But they're my size!" screamed Miss5, teetering precariously.

And they kind of were - they were a size 9 in adults, and not children's. Not that Miss5 left disappointed. Tracey came home with five pairs of new shoes. My lack of high fives and exclamations of, 'Oh wow! Shoes! Yes!' didn't go unnoticed.

"You don't think I did well?"
"Why five?" I asked, as Tracey deposited box after shoe box onto the table. How do you discover you need more shoes at the shops? It didn't make absolute sense to me. "I thought we needed to replace one pair?" I don't know why I wasted my breath. I'll give Tracey this; she was able to explain the logic behind each and every purchase. Or I assume so. I drifted off to my happy place fairly early in the conversation. Although this lack of gushing and, let's face it, genuine interest might possibly be attributable to the fact I'm not well.

Tracey, on the other hand, was suddenly full of energy. Shopping can do that. "You watch the kids. I'm cleaning out their rooms," she announced, bounding off to the bedrooms. Now this bit does make sense - because Tracey had all these new shoes to somehow fit into their cupboards she needed to make space. So I put on a movie and Miss2 and I lay on the lounge together, with only occasional interruptions as Mum walked past the telly with armfuls of toys she expected to be able to throw out.

A little pointer for all you mums and dads out there - the Toy Story stories probably aren't the right movies to put on the telly when you're in the middle of throwing out old and unused toys.

Well I know that now. And fortunately it's a lesson I won't quickly forget because Tracey bought herself a new pair of shoes this morning with which she intends kicking me up the bum. :)

Congratulations Bruce/Tracey D and thank you for a great read! To read any of our members' blogs, click here

5. Best of the Forum: 2013 is the Year To...

See it, be it in 2013! As the year ends and a bright new one begins, now is the time to look at our lives and see what we might want to change or improve. Health, finances, family and friendships are examples of areas that might benefit from change.

Here are some great threads about making a difference in 2013.

Setting an intention for 2013

What are your intentions for 2013? Share them with other people and give yourself another reason to stick to your goals in 2013.
read more...

Am I lazy? Goal setting challenge

You are not alone - goal-setting is something we all struggle with! This great thread shares ideas on how to set and achieve your goals.
read more...

Goals and baby steps December

If you are in need of inspiration, these monthly threads are a fantastic place to start! Write up whatever things you want to achieve this month and soak up the support this wonderful group brings. Go on - what are you waiting for?
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: Inspire Me!

Sometimes, although you know what you want to achieve and you have a fair idea of how to get there, there is still something missing. It's called 'inspiration' and it's a bit like a key for your ignition - you just can't get started without it! Well fortunately, the Vault is crammed full of incredibly inspirational ideas to get you started on planning a wonderful 2013. Here are a few of our favourites.

Here's the plan for achieving your goals

Budgeting can be difficult and achieving goals can seem impossible, so I have designed a monthly budget to meet our obligations and to make a start on our goals. This starts each January and here's how it works:

List all the goals you want to achieve, for example, paying off the credit card, setting up an emergency fund or buying a boat.
Number the goals from the most important to the least important. Goal one is the most important, goal 12 the least important.
Go through the list and allocate a goal for each month. Put goal one into January, goal two into February and so on. That is your goal for the month but you can be flexible. For example, depending on the balance, you might want to focus on credit card repayment for two months instead of one.
Take a goal off the list once achieved and add a new one or bring the other goals forward. Remember, this is flexible, so if you need to re-prioritise a goal, simply place it in front of the others and continue on as before.

You might not achieve every goal by the end of the month but you will have made a start. This will give you great motivation to continue.

Contributed by: Miss A

Visualise then realise

I love the idea of visualising your dream purchase like a car or paying off the house.

Here's a practical way to make that dream come true.

Draw a picture of your goal, for example, the outline of a car. Draw a grid over the picture, maybe 52 squares, each representing one week or whatever number matches your savings plan. Then, allocate a dollar value to each square in the grid. Each week, fill in a square to represent how much you own or have saved towards your goal. Stick this picture where you can see it every day, so you can focus on your goal on a daily basis. This is great encouragement for the young and old alike.

Contributed by: Louise Mulqueen

Positive thinking lifts pressure

My husband and I are soon to become parents and our income has been cut in half. Now that we're on a tighter budget, I have realised how much we were caving in to outside financial influence from friends and family. From innocent dinner invitations to suggestions on 'must-have' products for the new baby, the dollars were being seduced right out of our pockets. At the same time, it quickly became uncomfortable saying, 'We'd love to, but it's not in our budget' in almost every conversation. It made me feel constantly deprived and I would actually end up spending money to make myself feel better. My husband stopped wanting to talk about our finances at all because he felt stressed out.

After thinking long and hard about our spending habits, I decided there were three main ways that outside influences were sabotaging our budget: social invitations, gift giving and pressure to buy. Once I specifically identified these influences it became so much easier to combat them.

Instead of declining every dinner invitation and feeling bad about constantly telling our friends we didn't have the money, we organised a monthly dinner party for the entire group. We rotate hosting duties and guests just bring a bottle of wine. Instead of eating out once a week with one or two friends, we now have a festive gathering once a month with everyone all at once - but only pay for a home-cooked dinner a couple of times a year! It puts us back in control of how much we spend. I've also realised that people essentially just want to spend time with you, so you can feel free to counter suggest a cheaper and more creative option than going out to dinner. Instead of, 'it's not in our budget', I now say, 'Would you be up for a picnic on the beach instead? The weather is supposed to be beautiful'. If the plans are set in stone, I say, 'We already have a commitment for dinner, but can we meet up with you all for a drink afterwards?'

I also noticed that giving gifts was really adding up. It was so simple to start making my own gifts instead. My favourite is to make chocolate covered strawberries and wrap them up in a beautiful gift box.

To stop caving in to pressure to buy, I've had to change the way I go shopping. It used to be a leisure activity to go with friends on the weekends, but I know I am too easy to influence. It's just inevitable that they will say, 'You look great in that, you should buy it' or 'I had this with my first baby, you definitely need it'. Now I shop alone, with a list! I've also stopped taking the bait in conversations. If someone is recommending a $700 mountain buggy stroller, I ask if they know of a more economical brand of similar quality.

The most important way I've stopped outside influence from wrecking our budget is to talk openly about things with friends and family. Through this I've learned that most people are in the same situation. A friend confided that she was deeply in credit card debt and didn't know what she was going to do. Now instead of meeting her for a weekly manicure and lunch date that costs at least $60, we have opened up and become a real support system to each other for reaching our financial goals. It's often perceived as taboo to talk about money with people, but I think our friends have been just as relieved as we are!

Contributed by: J.C.

Poetic inspiration

A while back a friend gave me a little poem that helped me stay within my budget as a single mum. 'Eat it up, wear it out, make do or do without!' The first encouraged me to be 'creative' with my cooking skills and use what I had in the cupboard, substituting ingredients where needed instead of running to the supermarket. The second gave me inspiration to create my own 'fashion' wardrobe and the last taught me that we could survive, and quite happily, without all the latest gadgets and expensive outings and so on. We stayed a close family, enjoying the simple things like picnics, walks in the parks, riding our bikes together, things that don't cost a cent but mean a million dollars! Making this my motto, I was able to put aside $5.00 a week (a lot of money back then!) and each school holidays we would have a day in the city and enjoy a nice lunch, a trip to the zoo or chips at the beach. At the beginning of each season I would go to Target or Kmart and layby new clothes for the children as they outgrew last season's and with my weekly savings, my children had at least one or two new outfits each year to complement the trips to Vinnies! All in all, learning to live within my budget kept me worry free, allowing my little family to enjoy the simple things in life!

Contributed by: Ute Pettigrove

Here are a few more ideas for our valued Vault members:

Combine weight-loss goals with financial goals Contributed by: Melanie Reddaway

Don't lose sight of your goal Contributed by: Mookiyum

Make your savings goals your screensaver! Contributed by: Kieran Booth

Set goals, find support and trust you'll get there! Contributed by: Minister of war & Finance...

7. Cooking with Mimi: Barbecue-Ready Stuffed Marshmallow Aliens... Invading Your Home Soon!

Are you sick of the same old desserts and treats? Cream of this, flour laden that, butter soaked thingos drizzled with cardiac arresting other stuff. Who needs it? For me, a toasted marshmallow, done in the fireplace in winter, and in the barbecue in summer, and I'm happy. Even under the grill will do in a pinch. Especially now that I want to be the new me. The me that's slender, fit, healthy and here for 45 more years.

Alien looks aside, these belong in everyone's dessert repertoire, and untoasted and lined up in a box, make the perfect gift. The girl child took one look at this baby and in her usual, gracious and ever respectful 12-year-old manner said, 'you don't expect me to eat THAT, do you?' Thus challenged I thrust one at her, straight from the grill and cradled in a spoon. 'Try,' says I. Eyes widened at first melt-in-mouth sensation, then closed in bliss as taste buds found warmed cinnamon sugar on the base. A swirl around the mouth released the salty popcorn kernel, along with the craisin and soft gooey choc chips. The final tang of just a couple of crystals of gourmet salt lingered for a second or two, whereupon she didn't even ask for another, but headed straight for ingredients on bench to make several for herself.

Did she ask Fabbo Mother whether she'd like some? No. Did it keep her out of my hair for a few hallowed moments? Yes. Therefore worthy of repeat performance.

Following is the ridiculously and mercifully short ingredients list which will make a hideously bountiful number of Aliens.

1 bag marshmallows
1/2 cup popcorn
1 tbsp craisins
1 tbsp chocolate chips
1/4 cup water in a shallow cup or lid
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar, hot chocolate or latte mix
Gourmet salt flakes if you wish
Choc hazelnut spread or peanut butter to secure the popcorn kernels if giving as gifts

If you're making these as a gift, have a box ready to hold them. You will not be toasting them ahead of time. This would look ugly, not taste nearly as good and elicit response similar to that from the girl child, above. This also means that you need to include instructions for elevating to heavenly status. Something short and sweet like, 'Grill, barbecue or toast in the fireplace for 20-60 seconds' would about do it.

Take marshmallow, cut a deep cross into the top with a sharp, pointy knife. Ease an opening into marshmallow with fingers, being careful not to totally destroy marshmallow.

Into the little pocket, squeeze a kernel of popcorn, a couple of choc chips and a craisin. If you're gifting these, do it the other way around. Craisin - choc chips - popcorn on top. Secure the popcorn with your choc spread or peanut butter. This just holds it all together. We prefer the choc chips on top if they're going straight from bench to grill to mouth, but it really makes little difference. Heck, once you get a run on these, entire communities could spend a weekend trying to decide which way tastes better.

Dip the base of the marshmallow into the water quickly, then dip it into the flavoured sugar, hot choc or latte mix.

Set aside, 'cause this alien is done.

Consuming is easy. See directions for gift giving and off you go.

For the gourmet type a last minute touch of a couple of salt flakes after grilling, barbecuing or toasting in the fireplace is a new kind of devilishness.

Warning: Consuming more than ten Marshmallow Aliens in one sitting is critically unfair to thighs waiting to become slender. Watch out! Merry Christmas!

You can discover more of Mimi's UFOs (Unique Food Odysseys!) in our Members' Blog area.

8. Claire's Corner: Chapter 2013

I love this time of year! The silly season gives way to some well-earned end of year relaxation and the weather here in New Zealand is at its best. After a long, dark and cold winter it seems as though summer has arrived with a bang! The pohutakawas are in full bloom, the Auckland harbour is sparkling and there is a renewed sense of positivity in the air!

At about this time every year for the past four years, I've promised myself I'd make a serious start on writing a book. I've spent countless hours thinking about said book, I've pondered over plots, created a few characters and have tucked away a few clever lines. Starting 'The Book' is one of the many things I want to tick off my 'to do' list in 2013. Actually, when I think about it, it's probably more like seven or eight years that it's been in the planning stages! I can't really put my finger on why I haven't started it. I love writing, I love reading and I love coming up with characters and plots. But there just seems to be a bit of a block when it comes to sitting down and actually starting! But this year, while the sun is shining and the days are long and beautiful, I hope to progress from 'planning' and actually start writing!

One of the reasons I love writing is because it's a nice little escape from some of life's more pressing realities such as budgeting, dieting, parenting and other such joys! I can create my own characters and give them a life of my choosing - triumphs or tragedies, joy or despair, passion or grief... or a roller-coaster ride involving all of the above! Wouldn't it be nice if we could write our own story and decide exactly how our own stories would pan out? Hmmm... could be interesting?!

Of course, we can be the authors of our own story to some degree... with just a little careful planning along the way! And while getting that book underway is definitely a priority on my list for the year ahead, there are also a few other goals I want to achieve this year so that my own life story tracks along in the right direction! Here are a few of the key areas I'm planning to focus on this year:

Kill the credit card debt! For many years I was proudly able to state that we didn't have any credit card debt, mainly because I refused to have a credit card. But over the past year or so, for all the usual reasons, we have amassed some stomach-churning debt that has reached ridiculous levels. Hubby has cut up his card and we've paid it off this month; next month we'll begin tackling mine! I want it completely paid off by the end of the year. I've sat down with our budget and have decided that it is possible. It won't be easy, there will be sacrifice, there will be tears, there will be shops that will be wondering where I am... but it will be done!
Get the bathroom sorted! Approximately 19 years ago (I remember because I was pregnant with our son), we started renovating the bathroom. This year, the plan is to finish! It's laughable I guess, but it's just one of those projects that kept slipping down the priority list. But we are now at the stage where our bathroom is embarrassingly awful, I cringe when friends come over and need to use it. My goal is to have it finished by April. Again, it won't be easy... mainly because it costs money! We've had a few professional quotes and we simply can't afford to get someone to do it for us. So it's going to be a good ol' DIY jobbie!
Shift that last stubborn seven kilos! About six years ago I lost 25kg. But I've managed to put about 10kg back on. I've slowly lost three kilos but the last seven are proving very difficult! But this year I turn 40 (in May), so I'm determined to get back down to my goal weight before then! And because I've spent enough money in my life on trying to lose weight, I want to do it myself without spending a cent. My plan is to start journaling what I'm eating and to make the most of the great weather by doing plenty of walking. Watch this space!

I think that's enough to go on for this year. All being well, by this time next year I'll once again be credit card-free, I'll be at my goal weight of 74kg and I'll have a bathroom that I won't be ashamed of! And maybe, just maybe, I'll have written the first three chapters of my book!

So what are your goals for the New Year? How will the next chapter of your life unfold? I'd love to hear what hopes, plans and dreams you have for 2013!

DECEMBER QUOTE: Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

You can discover more of Claire's Corner in our Members' Blog area.

9. 50c Indulgences: The Gift Called Christmas

Our Indulgences Under 50c thread this month was "The Gift Called Christmas". We focussed on enjoying Christmas without being overwhelmed with too many demands or expenses and working out what's most important to us so that we make the most of this special season. I find Christmas a good time to reflect, to be grateful for what we have and to help others. This year several of our beautiful regular contributors have come into the Christmas season with serious illnesses and heartache in their families. This reinforces just what is important - simply being with our family and friends.

As usual we came up with lots of inexpensive ways to make Christmas special. For me, hand-made gifts and decorations cut the expense but increase the joy of Christmas! All year round I knit, sew and craft for Christmas. My little tip for crafters is to watch for materials in op shops - almost all my materials come in at under $0.50c a metre this way. I purchased images for the front of some of my pot holders on eBay very inexpensively. When I finally bring out all the things I've made over the year, I am amazed at the choice of gifts I can give people! I sat my sewing under the tree before I began wrapping and it was lovely to see it all! My advice would be start in January and it just works out!

In our home one of our favourite ways of creating a lovely atmosphere is to light lots of candles. I tend to just group what we have on a pretty tray. You can make them look much more dramatic if you place them in front of a mirror or use a mirror as your tray.

A second fail-safe way to make your home feel special is with flowers. Mine are just from my garden and the vase was $0.50c in the local op shop. I painted it to match my decor. Even if you just have greenery or some bottle brush, once a big bunch is in a vase it just looks lovely - and is free!

An evening drive to look at all the beautifully decorated homes is always part of our Christmas. We pack a picnic and thermos and make a night of it!

We hope you had a very happy Christmas everyone and thank you for your contributions of wonderful recipes and beautiful ideas. The New Year is very exciting and we have so much planned for 2013. Come and join us in January!

10. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Planning Out the Year to Come

Long-term goals for food production in 2013

Our long-term goal has been to become as self-sufficient as possible with the space that we have here. So far the focus has been on the back yard and I think the time has come that we develop a plan for turning our front yard into a more productive space. I would love to be harvesting from there by this time next year. The very front of the yard has a retaining wall that is unfortunately made from treated hardwood, so I'm not too keen on growing food directly in soil next to it. We have some tin left over from making the beds out the back and I'm thinking about making up some more wicking beds along the retaining wall. The only cost involved will be for soil and sand as the rest of the materials have already been stockpiled, which will help us out financially.

I would love to try out growing in a Hugakulture bed and am thinking about how we could incorporate one into the front yard. Hugakulture beds are constructed with a row of stacked timber of different sizes that are then covered with a soil and compost blend. The resulting mound is then covered with thick layers of mulch and planted out. The idea behind it is that the timber will slowly rot down in the base of the bed releasing nutrients and while it is decomposing it will act like a sponge, soaking up water and storing it for the plants to use. There are a number of sites that can explain it better than I with www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur being one of the better ones.

I would like to build the bed as a hybrid between the Hugakulture and a keyhole garden-style bed. I saw this version of a keyhole bed, 'African-style raised bed', and can see how the two different types can be brought together. A stockpile of fallen branches and a few small logs have been started in anticipation of starting the bed. Now we just need to find an old unwanted rainwater tank or something similar to act as a surround.

I would also like to add another 1000L fish tank and three more grow beds to the aquaponic system but this may be a bit of a tricky one with the limited space we have. Some of the IBC wicking beds that were placed next to the set up during the year may have to be relocated but that will only take a weekend to do.

I think with the new gardens out the front and the addition of more fish and grow beds we will be moving much closer to our goal of having the majority (60%+) of our own vegies grown on site.

Goings on in the patch

I decided to tidy up a few bits around the patch in anticipation of planting out some new seeds that arrived this week. I tried out a new seed supplier called "The Seed Collection" after seeing a post on the Share the Seed wall on Facebook. The prices were fair and they had a few seed types that I've been chasing for a while, like white beetroot. These will hopefully be planted out sometime this weekend along with some short 'Kuroda' carrots that I want to try out in the aquaponic grow beds. A few of the other seeds we got will be sown into seedling trays and coco peat pellets for planting out in the patch once they have put on a bit of size.

A decision was made to remove the bull's horn capsicum from the aquaponic system to allow more sunlight into the small barrel bed at the rear. Hopefully it will help some of the water chestnuts bounce back. I plan on removing all the strawberries from the aquaponics to make room for more leafy greens.

The fruit fly baiting stations will also be put up this weekend. I have made up five boards that will have the eco-naturalure applied and wired/tied up around the patch. Hopefully we will see a result from them fairly quickly as I have a few tomatoes that could really do with planting out in the patch, as well as a few capsicums and chillies that are not in the hoop house.

Harvests from the patch

Have had some great harvests from the patch this week.

The first Kakai pumpkin was picked this week. It hasn't been opened yet, but I'll show some pictures of the seeds and flesh once we do. I will be saving some of the seeds from this one for next year's crop me thinks! The bell chillies are also ripening up nicely and I have harvested about one third of the bush so far. There is a long list of people who want to have a go growing these, so I have already put some seeds to one side. We have continued to use up a lot of the greens in vegie stir-fries and were very happy to be able to include some of the brown seeded snake beans...

The size of these beans were a bit of a surprise. We are used to growing the shorter black seeded variety that only grow to about 300mm/1foot in length. A few of these beans grew to over 600mm/2foot in length. We have also been adding the eggplants to the stir-fries as we have been picking them along with sweet potato leaves. The sweet potatoes don't appear to be too badly affected by losing a few leaves here and there, so we will be using them a lot more often as greens from now on.

We also harvested another two spaghetti squash and cooked up our first one last night.

The squash was cut in half lengthways and then roasted in the oven for half an hour. The seeds were then removed and the flesh scraped out into fine angel hair pasta-like threads. I must say that we were all very surprised by the flavour. Bianca and I were expecting a bland zucchini like flavour but our taste buds were greeted with a sweet, almost buttery flavoured sensation. I will definitely be growing these squash again and am glad to see the vines slowly rebounding after receiving a good feed of seasol and molasses from last weekend.

That's about it for this week. Temperatures are set to reach 36°C here tomorrow and 38°C by Monday so think I should pop out and fill up the beds and barrels.

Have a great one all!

**: )»**

Rob Bob

Read more of Rob Bob's garden blogs in our Members' Blog area.

11. Homeopathy Corner: 'How to' for Cough and Flu

While we are looking at things we would like to improve this year, one of my goals is to spend more time working with Fran to teach people how to prescribe homeopathics. A couple of months ago I went to the Australian Homoeopathic Associations Convention and the things I learned were incredible. The amount of money our government could save itself by encouraging homeopathics is phenomenal. When the Swiss government taught their doctors how to prescribe homeopathics they cut the per patient costs by 15%. THAT IS A HUGE SAVING!

I truly believe Australia needs to follow Switzerland's example and this year I am going to work with Fran to help make that happen. As part of this Fran has been writing a Homeopathic book for beginners and here is a section of it. It explains the sort of things you need to look for when prescribing remedies for coughs and flus.

Well done Fran. You are doing a great job! Here is a link to the article:-

homeopathyplus.com.au/homeopathy-made-simple-treating-family-and-friends-part-2

12. From Last Month: Starting a Non-Profit Organisation

Bea Davidson asked for help last month:

"I am looking at starting up a non-profit organisation for youth in my area. I would love to hear ideas about getting a business off the ground with as little outlay as possible. I need to know about everything from finding a premise, outfitting, setting up and then day-to-day running as cheaply as possible. We need to save as much money as we can so we can pour our profits back into the youth activities. Thanking you all in advance!"

Thanks so much to everyone who wrote in to share their wisdom with Bea. Here are some of our favourites!

Local councils can help with non-profit set ups

When starting up a non-profit organisation, try your local council and/or councillor as a first point of contact. Most councils have community halls available for minimal rent for NPOs, they may even have other buildings that are available for permanent lease. Councils also have a community services department that can help you find or get funding and assist you in setting up the group properly. For youth services, they may have a youth officer who can help you with activities and funding. Last but not least, councils often have good furniture such as tables and chairs available free of charge to community groups.

The local church is also a good place to get a permanent place to meet if it is only once or twice weekly and often, they can help you with activities or food during the activities. If you need additional funding, try looking on your local government website.

Contributed by: Deb Manendis

Six tips for non-profit success

If you're planning to start a non-profit organisation, here are a few tips to help things go a little smoother!

The most important thing is bookkeeping. If possible, use a computer program such as MYOB or Quicken, or get yourself a volunteer. Meticulous account keeping shows integrity and honesty, and every supporter can get a 'profit and loss' report at the press of a button! Using a computer program is actually very speedy once it has been set up to reflect all your needs.
Insurance (personal and public liability, property and so on) can be a huge cost but is vital. You will not be able to rent a place without this.
Your local service clubs such as Lions can be of great help.
Your 'must have' office needs are a computer, a three-in-one printer and up-to-date office software. This is all you need at the outset. You can design and print your own logo, letterhead, business cards and more with this basic software. You do need to look professional.
Make sure the name you choose for your organisation is unique. Go to ASIC to lodge your business name. If there is another group using the same or a similar name, they will let you know.
And lastly, keep plugging away - it can take up to a year to get everything in place!

Contributed by: Jane Stranger

Try Salvos for youth group start-ups

If you are keen to start a youth group in your area, you may find your local Salvation Army church a great help. You may be able to use the facilities of their hall and kitchen and so on. They very often have all sorts of youth-oriented things they can offer too. They often don't charge for the use of their facilities to help you keep costs down and as a way of donating to your cause.

Contributed by: Evelyn Wall

Approach bigger businesses for donations

If you are starting a non-profit organisation and need furniture, supplies, equipment or materials, try approaching businesses in your area. Many companies and businesses will donate to a good cause. The bigger companies like Bunnings usually require a letter on an official letterhead outlining what you are trying to do and what you require.

Our local Bunnings has a community liaison officer who approaches companies on your behalf asking them if they will donate materials to charities and community groups. Local groups like Rotary, Lions, Mens Sheds and so on will often also help. We also have a local community radio that does free advertising for charities and fund-raising. It also pays to talk to the local newspaper and get them to a write-up on what you are doing.

Contributed by: Isabel T.

Seek out skills from your community

Well done for wanting to help the youth in your area. My suggestion is to approach the council for any assistance they can give you - they might have an area available for use. They might also be able to give you information about government grants you could apply for. You could also try approaching organisations in your community for support with donations or sponsorship.

Get friends and family on board - everyone knows someone who knows someone that may be able to help - from providing help with running the program, providing goods and services and volunteering, even business planning.

There may be some elderly people in your community who have certain skills they'd like to utilise or pass on to the youth such as carpentry or cooking. If you're looking at incorporating sports into your youth centre, local sporting clubs might be able to help with coaching and tips.

Ask for help and assistance from everybody. Put posters up around town asking for help and ideas. Perhaps hold a meeting to gauge support and interest from the local community. Good luck and I wish you every success!

Contributed by: Leanne Matthews

Check out Glen Gerreyn's story

A fantastic guy called Glen Gerreyn did just what you want to do with only $2.00 in his pocket! He is very successful in what he does and I honestly think that rather than 'rethink the wheel', sometimes it is great to ask for help and borrow someone else's ideas. He is a great believer in asking for help and has been very successful in gaining sponsorship for his organisation, all in the interest of the kids. You can find out more at oxygenfactory.com.au/glen-gerreyn.

Contributed by: Mandiii Bonnett

Low-cost computers for non-profit organisations

Here are a few tips for saving on the costs of computers if you plan to start up your own non-profit organisation:

Low-cost refurbished computers are available for non-profit organisations from ItShare South Australia www.itshare.org.au, Computerbank www.computerbank.org.au (Victoria), www.computerbank.com.au (New South Wales) and www.cbq.org.au (Queensland).

If you already have a computer you might consider using free and open source software such as Open Office for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. You can find out more at www.openoffice.org. You may also like to check out the Mozilla Firefox web browser and Mozilla Thunderbird email program at www.mozilla.org

Another tip is to enquire at your local council as they may have a grants program you can apply to. Approaching your local member of parliament is another good idea as they often know about grants available and may write support letters to help with your grant applications.

Contributed by: KW

Visit Our Community website

Try visiting ourcommunity.com.au. They may have some people there who could help you out with advice.

Contributed by: Tania Belletty

Great websites for non-profit organisations

If you are planning to start a non-profit organisation, here are a few helpful links with heaps of information on grants, licences, OH&S, tax, applications, hiring and more.

www.business.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

www.business.gov.au/BusinessTopics/Grantsandassistance/Pages/default.aspx

deewr.gov.au/help-available-and-eligibility-neis

www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit/

For more about non-profit sponsorship, try: nonprofit.about.com/od/fundraising/fr/sponsor.htm

And for information about starting a non-profit business, try these two links:

search.newtabking.com/?search=starting+a+nonprofit+company+australia&search=starting+anonprofit+company+australia

http://startpins.com/search.php?q=companies+who+sponsor+youth+charities+and+nonprofit+organisations+australia&type=Web+Search

Contributed by: Lynda H

13. This Month's Help Request: Yeast and Wheat-Free

Sue Izard has emailed with this cry for help:

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Sue, please send them in to us here.

14. Savings Story: Well Done, Briget!

When emailing to thank us for the 2013 Calendar, Briget told us a bit about her savings journey and we wanted to share it with you. Well done, Briget - we hope you enjoy your well-deserved retirement!

"Thank you very much for another wonderful calendar. 2013 will be our first year of retirement and Simple Savings will be even more important to me now as I try and stretch our savings as much as I can.

"I have been a member since 2003 (I just realised it's nearly 10 years) and you have seen me through trying to be a SAHM for the last years of my son's schooling (successfully achieved) and then through saving so my husband could retire a few years earlier (achieved three weeks ago).

"I feel so glad I found your wonderful site that has helped our family achieve these goals.

"I hope you and your families have a wonderful Christmas holiday and look forward very much to whatever 2013 brings for us all."

15. Goodbye, Goodbye

Well that's our first newsletter for 2013! We hope you have enjoyed it and have been inspired by all the money saving tips. Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all so get in touch on the Forum or on Facebook and say 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love hearing from you.

We are looking forward to sharing a fantastic 2013 with you.

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

January 2015 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - January 2015

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: I Love a Man in an Apron
January: Meat and Two Veg
Penny Wise: Three's Company
Best of the Vault: Best Value Bargain Hunting!
Best of the Forum: Making the Most of Your Two Meat and Veg!
Best Members' Blog: Looking Forward to 2015
Mimi: Mango Sweet Chilli Turkey Breast
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Container Gardening and Update on the Patch
From Last Month: Help Me Plan 2015
This Month's Help Request: Recipes Using Non-Perishable Ingredients

Happy New Year!

We hope 2015 is going to be a fantastic year of savings and success for you! Things are busy in the Lippey family with Sam starting high school and Elora starting Prep - our family is growing up! We've got some great plans for the Simple Savings family as well - stay tuned!

Thank you for your Christmas wishes and your wonderful emails - I love hearing your savings ideas and stories and tips! Here are some of my favourites this month:

"I just want to add my thanks to the thousands you must receive. About seven years ago I found Penny Wise in a magazine and joined the same day. We are not spendthrifts but not entirely frugal either, so the whole package of tips and good living philosophy was very welcome and a couple of years later when DH was retrenched we were quite comfortable that we could manage and we did. Three years later and after a few false starts, DH at 64 found good employment in his field and I was able to retire. SS again became my favourite reading and I am applying lots of ideas and getting ready for when DH finally decides to retire too. Not all SS stories are dramatic but there are very few people who have not improved their lives after being in contact with your site. Thanks again." (Glenda)

"Thank you Simple Savings - I received a membership for Christmas and am on here every day. I just know that 2015 will be MY year to start saving." (Candice)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. If you haven't downloaded the 2015 Calendar, you can download it here.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: I Love a Man in an Apron

"Hey Hanna, do you have time for a quick coffee during lunch?" Sally asked, tidying her desk. "Sorry Sal, I'm off to do some grocery shopping," said Hanna, grabbing her bag. "I found the BEST butcher, just around the corner from here - he's wonderful!" she sighed, staring into space.

"Um, let me get this right - you're doing GROCERY SHOPPING during your lunch hour?" Sally quizzed. "That's right, Sal," Hanna smiled smugly, "I got so tired of paying huge prices for poor quality meat at the local supermarket. Then a few weeks ago I found Fred, just around the corner from work. So I just buy my meat, put it in the work fridge and pop it in the car after work."

"That's great, Hanna - can I come with you and have a look as well?" Sally asked, getting excited at the idea of some good bargains. "Good idea, Sal! Then we can visit Stan at his fruit and veg shop, and then Steve at the deli while we're out." Sally stopped and looked wide-eyed at her friend. "Hanna, I have to ask, have you been shopping for groceries or boyfriends?!"

2. January: Meat and Two Veg

Everyone has a brilliant butcher in their neighbourhood - but most people never go to him. Instead they convince themselves that it is easier to buy their meat and fresh food at the supermarket when they do their normal shop. But it really isn't easier - it is costing you time and money and leaving you vulnerable.

What is easier is to find the best prices in your area and shop there from now on. Then you can save yourself money every time you shop.

There are two ways to find the best places; you can do the leg work yourself or you can ask around. This month we want you to do both.

First we are going to give you some tips on how to do the leg work. Then, we will look at 'phoning a friend', SS style.

Finding a good butcher

Grab your phone book and ring each one. Ask for the prices of your favourite cuts. Make sure to ask if they do bulk discounts. Write down all the prices and hang on to them.

Next, go to your supermarket and compare similar quality meats. Then ask the supermarket employees what times of the week they discount their meat. Check those out and compare the prices. Buy meat from the places that have the two best prices to find the best value.

Finding a good fruit/vegie shop

When searching for the best fruit/vegies you are going to have to get in the car and drive around. The quality can vary from store to store so you will need to use your own eyes. Aim to visit three fruit/vegie stores and two markets. Compare the price and quality and then ask the staff if they have discounts.

If you can find a good place to get your fruit/vegies and your meat you will easily save yourself $50 a week, which adds up to $2500 per year.

'Ask a friend', SS style

The other way to find the best deals, shops and prices is to ask your frugal friends. Your frugal friends will have already worked out the best spots. And, this month we are focusing on sharing those tips and special spots and asking you to help us grow the Simple Savings Directory to cover as many areas as possible. So by the end of the month, we will all have a list of the best shops in our area so we can save money all year.

Earn a six month membership

Please have a browse through the present Directory and add any shops which deserve to be included. If we include your entry, you will have earned yourself a six month membership to the Savings Vault.

P.S. Don't forget to join in the "January: Meat and two veg challenge" thread in the Forum.

3. Penny Wise: Three's Company

Sometimes I swear my life is crazier than a soap opera. Which is why I haven't written anything lately, I just can't keep up! The last month alone has seen me perilously close to losing my house before bouncing back in the nick of time, then before I could recover from that I went from being given the opportunity of a lifetime - an all-expenses paid trip around Asia - to having it pulled from underneath me less than 24 hours before I was due to check in at the airport! That's a story that's too long to share and it's neither here nor there anyway; the wonderful thing to come out of it was that instead of whizzing halfway around the world at breakneck speed, I got to instead spend a leisurely extra couple of weeks preparing for Christmas with my boys and as I realised almost immediately with the cancellation of my trip, that was where I truly wanted to be.

Ah yes, my boys. As you can see they are rather large these days. And biased though I may be, they are pretty fab. I remember when their dad and I first split up and people would pat my shoulder and say knowingly 'it's the first year that's the worst'. So I wasn't too impressed when that first milestone passed only to have people once again say in a knowing voice 'it's the first TWO years which are the worst!' Who knows what the future holds from here? The past two years have certainly been extremely challenging for all three of us but one thing is for sure, we have learned a truckload about people and about life. My boys are kind, they are empathetic, they are protective, they are grateful, they are incredibly strong, they are tolerant (especially of me!), they are pretty much completely unflappable and having had things as tough as they have the past couple of years, they take nothing for granted.

However, what I love most about them is their perceptiveness. They see and understand so much more than I give them credit for. For example, the other day Ali got paid $20 for mowing lawns. He had been without money of his own for longer than I could remember but when he came home he no longer had it. He told me that when he had finished mowing he went around to his friend's house, who lives just with his dad. 'He opened the fridge and they had NO food, Mum,' he said seriously. 'I mean, I know we don't have much but they had even less. So I hope you don't mind but I gave them my $20 and told them I didn't want it back. At least they can go and buy bread and milk now.' I was so touched and so proud of him I burst into tears. I'm pretty sure that back when I was 16 I wouldn't have even noticed what my friends had in their fridge and have gone and blown the whole lot on make-up and CDs no sooner had that $20 been put in my hand. But that's Ali for you, he just sees things.

As for Liam, my gentle giant, well he's gone and surprised us all lately! Whilst perfectly capable, he's never thought of himself as an academic. However, Liam's problem for some years has been that he has been unable to find his niche in life, something he's truly passionate about. It really troubled him greatly and affected his school attendance badly, as he truly had no idea why he was there, other than the fact that he couldn't find anything else he wanted to do either! Much as his dad and I loved him, we were starting to really despair of him EVER finding anything - and then three weeks from the end of school - his last few weeks of school EVER - he found it. And instead of finishing his 13 years of school on a mediocre note, he changed overnight and began working like a Trojan, staying late after school, working weekends and spending every spare minute doing everything he could to ensure he passed the year with the necessary qualifications he needed to study his dream course, a three-year Bachelor's degree in Creative Media Production.

You see what I and many others didn't realise about Master Liam is that he is actually a very creative soul. All this time everyone thought he was up in his room just wasting his life away playing Xbox, he wasn't. OK some of the time he was! But the rest of the time he was working on his artwork, his graphics, his movies and animation. And, his writing. I had absolutely no idea but he writes stories and poetry - and he's really good; what a dark horse! The only other people who knew about this were his classmates, where his comic talent is well known. So nobody was more surprised than me and his teachers when unbeknown to us, Liam - super shy Liam, who never says boo to a goose - suddenly got out of his seat at his graduation prize giving and took the stage in front of hundreds of people. And there, relaxed as anything and chuckling to himself as he went, he read out a poem he had written himself about every one of his class mates and what the future held for them next. It was hilarious, the whole place fell about laughing and he got the biggest cheer of the night! I was absolutely flabbergasted and as his teachers all came up and hugged me, it was obvious that they were too - even some of the men were in tears! And it was that night I realised that he had finally found his niche - and that he was ready to leave home.

So 2015 is going to be a very different year for us! Eight weeks from now Liam will be starting life as a uni student in Wellington and it will just be Ali and me here. Who knows what the year will bring but one thing is for certain, all three of us will be living off the smell of an oily rag! Everyone is conscious that the time we have left together is precious but for now everyone is working all hours coping with the summer influx here in Whangamata. Liam is working at one of the local motels as a jack-of-all-trades doing everything from ground maintenance and painting to laundry and stripping beds. It's a great way for him to brush up on all his domestic skills before leaving home. As for Ali, we're working together! I'm still at the Whangamata Club by night pulling pints but during the day I've taken on yet another job cleaning holiday homes for one of the real estate companies and the demand is such that Ali and I work together, doing as many as four homes every day before I can quickly dash home and get changed into my bar staff uniform. It's not glamorous but it's fun and I feel like all three of us are doing the best we can. Heaven knows it would be nice to start the New Year off on the right foot!

As you can probably tell, I don't get too much time to put 'pen to paper' at the moment! There are a million things I would love to say and will no doubt kick myself for forgetting to mention them but I couldn't end the year without thanking each and every one of you who has taken the time to read my ramble and support us this year. It's been a year of ups and downs to be sure, but for every down there has been more than enough ups to make up for it and the boys and I are truly humbled by the kindness shown to us, particularly by Simple Savings members. To those of you who used your super powers to make our festive season extra special, thank you so, so much. You know who you are, even if some of you insist on staying anonymous! I did say thank you via Facebook to my Christmas fairy who magicked beautiful new towels and a shiny new frying pan to my workplace but I don't know for certain if she (or he!) saw it so I do hope you see it here. Not only will Liam no longer have to take holey towels to uni, you have no idea how much of a lifesaver our new frying pan was when our oven was broken for three weeks! We are truly grateful. Once again this wonderful community of savers has helped us to survive the year in so many, many ways. From Liam, Ali and myself, we wish you all the very best for a prosperous 2015!

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page.

...or in our Members' Blog section.

4. Best of the Vault: Best Value Bargain Hunting!

Your challenge this month is to find the best value butchers and grocers in your area. All you need is an idea of what you buy already and a sense of adventure! You just never know what you might find...

Ask butcher for discounts on bulk meats

I've managed to save an extra $10-$20 on the cost of my bulk mince just by asking the butcher for a discount! I used to buy my mince in little 500g packs from the supermarket, but as my family grew and started eating more, I began buying in bigger 3-5kg packs. However, this meant driving about 20 minutes out of my way to a 'discount' butcher. One day when I was out of mince and in a hurry, I called into my local butcher and asked if he'd knock down the price if I bought five kilos of mince. It was advertised at $7.00/kg but he said I could buy five kilos at just $5.00/kg! That's a saving of $10 and even cheaper than the 'discount' butcher! After about a year I plucked up the courage to ask if I could have the low-fat mince discounted too and managed to get it for $8.00/kg instead of $12 (for five kilos)! I divide the mince into 500g bags and pop them in the chest freezer. Since then I've tried other butchers and have always received a discount when buying bulk, anything more than two kilos is considered bulk!

Contributed by: Havva T

Cutting the cost of organic chicken

I've found a great way to save at least $20 on the cost of organic chicken! We eat a fair amount of chicken and like to source the organic, free range kind. It can get very expensive though, so I started hunting for reduced-price whole, uncooked chickens and started cutting them myself. One chicken turns into two chicken fillets, two thighs, wings and legs and a carcass for stock making or chicken soup. I generally will buy at least two chickens at a time to make them easier to use in meals. I cut them and then freeze the portions.

Contributed by: Sim1

Would you like fries with that?

I saved $26.45 on potatoes when I bought my spuds in bulk! I had seen potatoes for sale in my normal supermarket at $6.49 for 4kg, so my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I spotted a huge 20kg bag of potatoes for only $5.99 at my local fruit and vegetable shop recently! I couldn't pass a bargain like that by so I bought one of the bags, rolled up my sleeves and lugged it out to the car!

When I got home, my hubby took one look at the bag and said, "So I take it we'll be living on potatoes for the next month then?" But I had a plan for those spuds! The first thing I did was go through the bag and sort them into baby, small, medium and large potatoes. The weeny ones would be perfect to use whole as side dishes. The large potatoes were huge - just the right size for baked potatoes. I then peeled and cubed the small potatoes and put them into saucepan-sized bags to freeze and be used later for mashed potato which I also froze. Finally I peeled and sliced the medium potatoes lengthways to use for fries and bagged them into 1kg bags. I was delighted with my potato stockpiling! My $6.00 bought me:

1/2kg of baby spuds
4kg of baking potatoes
5 x 800g bags of cubed potato for mashing
10 x 1kg bags of fries

I worked out my basic savings by comparing the price of a 4kg supermarket bag of potatoes ($6.49) with my bulk bag, meaning I saved $26.45. However, buying ten 1kg bags of supermarket chips (at $3.50 each) would have cost me $35 alone, so all up I worked out I actually saved a grand total of $48.41 on potato products!

Contributed by: Emma K

Asian supermarkets for seafood bargains

Trying to feed my family on a limited budget can be a challenge but I have found that fish and seafood is cheaper than meat when I shop at large Asian supermarkets. Fish pieces, cleaned calamari, frozen prawns and fresh mussels are all sold in large packs which can be divided up over a number of meals. I use this seafood economically in spaghetti marinara, fried rice and potato-based chowders. Mussels are great when steamed open and then baked or barbecued with garlic butter.

It's nice to know the family can enjoy delicious seafood so look out for Asian supermarkets in your area. You'll be surprised at the variety and the low cost.

Contributed by: Leonie P

5. Best of the Forum: Making the Most of Your Two Meat and Veg!

The Forum is a wonderful place to get answers and ideas - you just never know what you'll learn! Here are some great threads about making the most of your two meat and veg... you may just be surprised...

2015 food shopping budget

Follow Loz's journey into cost-cutting in 2015 - we dare you not to learn something new along the way!
read more...

The perfect meal plan

Our SunnySarah discusses her adventure looking for 'the perfect meal plan' - definitely lots of food for thought here!
read more...

What to do with chicken drumsticks

Need some ideas for a great value chicken dinner? Look no further!
read more...

Grocery challenge - January 2015

Join Claire and forum members in their grocery challenge to cut costs as much as possible.
read more...

6. Best Members' Blog: Looking Forward to 2015

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Ebony C for starting 2015 with a bang!

"I am planning to be on top of things for the new year.

"I've begun by printing the Simple Savings calendar and putting it on the fridge. I've spoken with DH about the first few months and what we can do. This year we are saving for a holiday for our 11 year anniversary (I'm hoping for it to be a honeymoon, but not getting hopes too high). We wanted to be in Thailand now, but a dental emergency put a dent in those plans and our bank balance. Lucky (thanks to the tips from this site) we were able to use our savings for the dentist and not have to look elsewhere for the money.

"I got some mince in bulk last week and made some meals for the freezer. I was able to stretch 1.5kg mince into lasagna, shepherd's pie and spaghetti bolognaise. I added heaps of vegies to the shepherd's pie to make the 500g mince for it stretch into two pies. I'll top them with mash when I reheat them.

"I looked at March on the calendar and saw it was create-away month. I spoke with DH and we thought we could make mini pizzas, have little boxes for noodles or fried rice or even fish and chips. I'm a bit nervous about No Spend Month, but figure that we will learn to go without the items that are not necessity. I lost my job earlier this year and stopped buying paper towel (I clean with microfibre and Chux cloths instead) and we haven't really missed it (I lost my job in March).

"I'm looking forward to eating better and watching our bank balance not dwindle away.

"Here's to a Happy New Year!"

Well done Ebony - we'll be following your progress and cheering you on every 'step' of the way!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

7. Mimi: Mango Sweet Chilli Turkey Breast

Post-Christmas there are always stacks of turkey breast marked down to next to nothing near me. Turkey breasts are huge and one can feed two to three people if you go about it the right way. I got a tray of two turkey breast fillets for just $6.00 on Boxing Day and it fed six of us.

I 'butterflied' the breast by cutting it as if to slice it into two thinner fillets BUT stopping about 3cm short of slicing all the way through. You then fold the top flap out and you have one huge thin fillet, connected in the middle. Now mash a soft mango or mix up some cream cheese and herbs or a cup of breadcrumbs, herbs and an egg. Then spread this thinly over the entire surface of the breast fillet.

Cut yourself a couple of pieces of kitchen string about 25cm long and slip them under the length of the breast, short edge to short edge. This will make it easy to tie the breast up once rolled. Carefully start to loosely roll the turkey fillet up Swiss roll style from short edge to short edge. That sounds weird but will make sense when you come to do it. :) Tie the string pieces firmly to retain the rolled shape. If any stuffing has squeezed out when you rolled, just push it back between the layers with clean fingers. Stab the whole thing all over with a sharp pointed knife to allow the sauce to permeate the breast as it cooks.

Sit the rolled turkey breast in a baking dish sprayed with oil and drizzle with a generous amount of sweet chilli or BBQ sauce. Bake, covered in an oven preheated to 180C fan forced or 190C normal, for 30 minutes. Remove the lid or foil and bake for a further 20 minutes. Baste with juices and sauce every ten minutes.

Remove from the oven, allow to sit for five minutes, then cut into neat circles, removing the string as you go. Serve with a crisp salad and crusty bread, steamed rice or baby potatoes. This is a super posh looking meal that's really inexpensive and so easy to do. :)

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

8. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Container Gardening and Update on the Patch

Container gardening for small spaces or rental properties

Just because you live in a unit or are renting a house and are not allowed to have a garden, doesn't mean you can't grow some of your own food. Container gardening is a great way to grow a few herbs and vegies that doesn't take up a lot of room or require you to dig up any lawn. When it comes to containers to grow in, you are only limited by your imagination!

While Bianca and I were renting, we started out growing in garden pots, broccoli boxes and tree propagation bags then moved on to bathtubs, buckets, barrels and also got a tad creative with the larger 'container' beds that we built. ;-)

We have grown everything from thyme to pawpaw (papaya) trees in containers and haven't found many plants that don't do well.

Keeping the size of the pots under 60L will come in handy if you need to move house, especially if you don't live on the ground floor of an apartment building. ;-)

When we moved from our last rental we decided to gift the bathtub we had to the neighbour who turned it into a duck pond for his feathered friends. We thought it was a lot easier to manhandle it next door than to relocate it to the new house. ;-)

The first step towards a bountiful harvest from your containers really does start with the growing medium you will be using. Not all potting mixes are created equal so it is a good idea to shop around to see what brands are available in your area. I try to stick to reputable brands with blends that include compost and natural fertilisers like 'blood & bone'. A quick search on gardening forums and groups should be able to help you in sorting out the reputable brands from the dodgy ones. ;-)

When using potting mixes I still like to add a few extra goodies to make sure that they have good drainage, are packed full of nutrients and have a few extra micro-organisms in the blend. The last batch I made up consisted of two parts commercial potting mix, one part worm castings/compost and one part hydrated coconut coir. The worm castings will add some organic matter containing beneficial microbes as well as nutrients to the mix, and if you're lucky, maybe a worm or two. The coconut coir will help keep the mix moist as it has great water holding capacity. I have also added some course sand to other mixes in the past to aid in the drainage, but felt that it wasn't needed this time round as the potting mix looked to be nice and loose.

Another option is to investigate your local landscaping supply yard to see what sorts of garden soils they have available. If you are looking at starting up a sizable potted garden this may be one option you might want to look at to save quite a lot of coin.

If you are lucky enough to have access to compost and/or worm castings, you could always make some of your own with other goodies mixed in.

While the 'recipe' I use changes depending on what we have on hand, I think this is a fairly good all round blend to grow most vegies in:

2 parts compost
2 parts rehydrated coir
1 part worm castings
1 part course sand (can be bought in bags)
1 part aged mulched up horse manure

An important aspect in growing in containers is keeping them well hydrated without over-doing it. When we first started I really had no idea and drenched every pot twice a day which was far too much and looking back now, probably washed a lot of the nutrients out the drain holes. Over the years we have used a few methods to keep the soil moist for the plants.

The easiest would have to be a simple tray under the pot which allows for a small amount of water to be wicked up into the soil as the plant requires it. One down-side to having water laying around in a situation like this is that mosquitoes might breed in the still water. To stop this, it is a good idea to let the trays dry out ever few days to kill the mozzie wrigglers.

Irrigating with drippers or spray heads is another option if there are no restrictions on the amount of water available to you. In the past we have mainly used the Wetpot sub surface irrigation emitters, due to our climate and frequent droughts in SE Queensland.

Self-watering wicking containers are also another great low maintenance way to grow food that keep the plants well hydrated.

If you've read my previous blogs then it's no surprise that these would be mentioned. ;-) Wicking containers/gardens are basically a self-contained bed/container that has a reservoir at the base. From this reservoir, water is wicked up into the soil for the plants to use. This way they not only provide the plant with constant moisture but lessens the amount of moisture lost due to evaporation.

Over the past few years we've made small wicking buckets, a wicking bath, wicking barrels and larger wicking IBC container gardens. While the larger IBC beds would be a bit of an effort to relocate they are still technically a container so don't think a landlord could really complain. ;-)

Another form of container gardening we have been playing around with over the past year or so is air pruning. Air pruning is a great way of growing plants in containers without letting the roots of the plants become pot bound, allowing you to grow larger plants in smaller pots.

To start off with I transplanted a chilli plant into a reusable green shopping bag (that may be familiar to some). ;-) The idea behind planting into a fabric bag and air pruning is that the roots from the chilli plant will grow to the outside of the bag, hit dry air and die off. Further back on the roots a number of new roots will sprout to replace the dead one, allowing the plant more access to nutrients and moisture.

Another DIY version of this is our hybrid air pruning/wicking barrel that we are growing our pawpaw (papaya) tree in. The video below has a bit of an explanation on air pruning and how this hybrid barrel was made.

I am so happy with how the pawpaw has gone that I've decided to pot out some of our dwarf fruit trees into fabric Root Pouches** It will be very interesting to see how the air pruning effect will go with these trees and I hope they will be as productive as the pawpaw looks to be.

We are also using the cloth pouches in a self-watering/wicking style garden bed. I got the idea for this from watching Larry Hall's Self Watering Kiddie Pool Grow System on YouTube. The idea behind this system is to have the base of the bags sitting in a few centimetres of water.

Water height is regulated by drilling drainage holes where you want the 'high tide' point to be. The water can then seep through the bag and wick through the soil, keeping the plant well hydrated. To stop mosquitoes and evaporation being an issue, the base of the tray will be filled with small rocks to help insulate and stop the bugs from easily accessing the water. I also plan to set up a float valve to help keep the base topped up.

Just a quick mention too on hydroponic growing - while it's been 16 years since our last attempt at hydroponic gardening, I do think that it is one option that would appeal to folks that can't garden in the soil. It can be set up outside or inside under lights and plants can grow very quickly. If it does interest you, there are a few folks I follow on YouTube who are very knowledgeable in the ways of hydroponics. Both Brock Hughes and MhpGardener have impressive systems that could easily be scaled down to a small balcony or indoor system.

Harvests & update from the patch

Since the last update I have unfortunately had a hard drive crash in my computer so have lost a great deal of harvest and progress shots from the patch. I did post a bit of a round up clip of our small backyard farm if anyone is interested.

Harvest wise, we did get our best sweet corn harvest to date which made the girls very happy. :)

We have some seeds to plant out of another variety to see which we like the best. We might even try to squeeze in a 'Painted' corn crop at the end of the season. ;-)

The cucumber vines we had on the go have slowed down and we did lose the Armenian cucumber to mildew and 28 spot lady beetles.

We do have three nice, large fruit we will be saving seeds from. The largest weighed in at 1.8kg/4lb and we will be saving the flesh to add to our morning juices. If history is anything to go by, the plants grown from our saved seeds will hopefully have a lot more vigour. ;-)

The one eggplant bush is supplying all our needs at the moment which is fantastic. We have left a few of the fruit from both types of eggplants on the plants to mature so we can replenish our seed stocks with fresh seeds.

The lime tree is laden with fruit here at the moment, with a fair few fruit ready to pick now.

It is also now covered in flowers after the recent rain we have had here in SE Queensland. I finally managed to get a shot of the blue tiger butterflies that like to frequent the citrus trees.

That's about it for this month. I would like to wish everyone all the best for 2015 and hope you all get the chance at having a crack at growing some of your own food or trying to grow something new.

Cheers all & have fun in the patch,
Rob.

**Disclaimer - I have recently taken on the role of a retailer for Root Pouches in Australia. This blog post is in no way to be taken as an ad and I encourage folks to save their coin and experiment with DIY methods.

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. From Last Month: Help Me Plan 2015

Last month Iris emailed us about ideas for planning and organising in 2015.

"I am so glad to say goodbye to 2014 - I have wasted so much money and time and energy because I CAN NOT get organised! It's almost the start of another year and I have some time to sit down and plan 2015. Can you please ask your members for their best tips on getting and staying organised? 2015 is going to be the year that I stay on top of things - please help!"

Thank you for your wonderful ideas for Iris, here are some of our favourites:

Keep things simple and delegate

If you want to get organised and stay organised, keep things simple! Use ONE system - such as an online calendar - and keep all your notes, appointments and so on in that one place. I was trying to use several and ending up in a muddle. Now I put everything onto the calendar which is part of my email program and I have suddenly stopped missing appointments and forgetting important things. If it is a busy day I just print that page and keep in my handbag for when I am out and about. Easy!

Most importantly, however, don't be afraid to DELEGATE. I always feel bad about mess in the house. Recently I decided just to change myself, put things away immediately and so on. That made a difference. When other family members ask 'where are my shoes/the remote/bag/book?' or whatever I now just ask them to recall where they were last and look there. The kids love it because I am empowering them more rather than taking over and best of all I no longer see myself as responsible for others' mess!

Contributed by: GoGo Goanna

Exercise book keeps me on track

To help me stay on track with my busy schedule, I have an exercise book with a list in it. My list is quite detailed, but yours doesn't have to be. The list consists of daily chores arranged in a kind of timetable. Next to the list I have ruled columns for each day, and as I progress through my day, I put a cross in the box next to the completed chore for that day.

I now use this system for many things, such as my pantry where the pantry list has everything that usually is kept in the pantry, and then it is given a cross when used, and ticked when replaced. This is very helpful for budgeting and for doing those challenges. It would be easy to apply this method to many things.

Contributed by: Gusta T

Review last year so you can plan next year

My best tip on getting and staying organised is to get a really clear idea of where you are right now. Looking back through the year, I consider the things that I'm pleased with and what worked well. Then I make a list of what I didn't get to and honestly answer whether I'll get around to each one. While I'm making my 'wins' list and my 'procrastinated' list I get insights about what works well in my life and what I've moved on from or will never get around to. I make notes about these so I remember them later and stay on task. Somehow doing the review clears my mind so I have a much clearer idea of where I'm headed, than I had before the review. It stops me making the same mistakes over and over!

Contributed by: Judith

Getting organised is fun with Flylady

If you're serious about making your life easier and being more organised, I can highly recommend you pay Flylady a visit! Visit her www.flylady.net website for more information on loving yourself while getting things done effortlessly; getting organised with daily decluttering and following your own routines; saving your money, energy and your valuable time to enjoy life with your loved ones. Become a free member and you will be thankful you did. Just follow the instructions and you will be 'organised' before you even realise!

Contributed by: Mithila

Stay focused with visual reminders

I have found the best thing to keep your mind on target is a vision board. You can use paper or cardboard, draw or cut out the pictures you want and hang it in your bedroom so you see it at least twice a day. Also, make yourself a money thermometer to use for savings - put the total amount at the top and colour it in as you save until you reach your goal. You can also make one to help keep your goal with paying off debts too. Seeing it regularly can help keep you focused and see the financial changes happening. Great motivation!

Contributed by: Simone

Make each day a breeze with household calendar

You can help everyone in the household be more organised by getting a big calendar which has enough room for multiple entries for each day. Put it on a wall in the kitchen, somewhere that is close to the fridge or kettle so every day you are looking at it multiple times a day. Write everything on the calendar for everyone - appointments, birthdays, events, late night meetings, school dates and so on. This way everyone can see clearly what is going on. You won't be running late for anything and the kids will be sent to school with correct uniforms, forms, money, equipment and everything else. It also prompts you to pre-cook meals for any busy evenings. Also, make it a habit to spend 15 minutes each night planning the next day - pack bags, organise paperwork and so on. You'll find mornings are a lot smoother!

Contributed by: Kelly

Be organised but be realistic

To help me be more organised I have bought a five-subject notebook, in which I have made the following sections:

Yellow - to do list
Green - home business
Pink - personal
Blue - grocery and menu planning
White - financial

I look at my book every day and know what jobs need to be done, what personal matters I need to attend to, where my home business is at, what we are having for dinner this week and what I need to buy and my financial goals for the year, with what I need to do to achieve them.

When setting yourself tasks however, be sure to know yourself and your limits. A decade ago, I was able to save all the housework for the weekend and would stay up until 2am Saturday morning getting it done - but I wouldn't have to do it for the rest of the week and could focus on my full time job and part time study. These days I have medical conditions and run out of energy quickly, so little and often works best for me with house cleaning, I need frequent rests. Whatever works for you!

Contributed by: Living like noone else

Make a three-weekly menu plan

If you want an easier, more organised daily routine I can highly recommend making a three-weekly meal list. This means, write out seven dinners, then another seven, then another seven and label them week 1, 2 and 3. Next, write out a shopping list for all of the ingredients for each list for each week. No more brainstorming what to have when, and because there are 21 different meals, by the time you get back to week 1 you're not sick of the same old thing! You do just one shop per week with your permanent list for the relevant week and simply bring along a small list of toiletries, breakfast and lunch foods. Save time, energy and money!

Contributed by: Olivia S

10. This Month's Help Request: Recipes Using Non-Perishable Ingredients

Cherie has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

We think Cherie's help request would also be a fantastic resource for camping and emergency kits! If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Cherie, please send them in to us here.

11. Goodbye For Now

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for January and we hope you get a chance to find your best value meat and two veg!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

January 2018 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - January 2018

This issue includes:

February is No Spend Month!
Tips for No Spend Month
Supporting Each Other in the Forum
Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!
We Are Seeking a Writer

Hi,

How are you going? I hope you had a great January and you are ready to take on "No Spend" February.

To help inspire you we have $200 in prizes this month with challenges for every level.

I hope you enjoy them and have a great month.

Many grins,
Fiona Lippey

PS. We have dropped the price of new vault memberships this month from $27 to the renewal price of $21.
Get your membership here.

1. February is No Spend Month!

Have you ever wondered how much money you waste in a week? Have you ever thought; "How little could I live off if I had to?" If so, Now is the time to find out, because February is No Spend Month!

What is No Spend Month?

This is where we challenge you to slash your budget and save as much money as you can by avoiding all non-essential spending.

The rules are as follows:
Your mission is to avoid spending money on ANYTHING in February other than the absolute essentials for your work, education or survival. Obviously there will be some things you cannot avoid, such as basic food and prior bills, but apart from that your mission is to make sure you don't buy anything that is not essential.

For example, this month you should NOT be buying:-

Takeaway food of any sort
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Frozen dinners
Movies or videos
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream (wait… What?!)
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol

Things you CAN spend money on:-

Rent or mortgage
Basic food
Utilities
Insurance
Petrol
Car
Health care
School essentials (meaning uniform, camps or stationery requirements, NOT money for the canteen!)
Other prior bills (we don't want you incurring late fees!)

Ooh, that sounds a bit harsh! What's in it for me?

Yes, we know it's harsh, but look at that list again... How many of those things do you currently buy each month? How much you would save by NOT buying them for a month? Go on, have a guess... Imagine how much headway you could make! Imagine all the things you could do to get ahead financially if you managed to keep all that money in your bank instead of automatically handing it over to shopkeepers for things you don't need. You could use it to pay off a credit card. You could pay some extra off the mortgage and save a heap of interest. You could use it to create an emergency fund to bring a little extra peace of mind. You could use it for a reward or holiday for your family. Put like that, isn't it worth the effort for a few short weeks?

Just in case you think going without for one whole month is too difficult. We have three challenges for you to choose from:-

The first is to go without 20 items you were planning on buying.
The second is to avoid 50 non-essential purchases.
The third is to go hard core and avoid all non-essential purchases for the entire month.

Pick the challenge that best suits you and grab a notebook to record your success. Every time you avoid spending money, write what it was and how much you saved. This way you can track your success and be proud of how well you're doing.

To help you on your journey we have some quick tips and some great prizes. Read on...

2. Tips for No Spend Month

Find a No Spend Buddy

During a No Spend Month, team up with a like minded buddy or family member and keep an eye on each other. There are so many things you can do in partnership, or on your own, including:

Raid each others pantry rather than make a trip to the shops
When heading out to run errands, make one trip for both of you
Pay bills online
Raid each others cupboards or gardens before buying gifts
Cancel the lawn-mowing for the month
When cooking, cook surplus and deliver to your buddy
Make greeting cards from household materials including card and glitter. Use downloadable images too

As you've seen, no spend is no problem!

Alcohol-free February

Being in your mid to late twenties and saving for a house is very tough these days. Most of my peers have given up on the idea of ever getting into the property market, as it's so difficult. This can make it hard for me to keep on track with my saving, especially when my friends often want to go out for dinner and drinks.

Going out for drinks all the time also takes its toll on your health, so to give myself a health kick and a financial boost I've decided to combine No Spend February with Alcohol-Free February. Not only do I save money by not buying drinks when I'm out; I also save on taxi fares because I'm happy to be the designated driver.

It's only been a week so far, but I already feel great and am amazed how much I've saved!

Contributed by: Rachy Bee

Beat the savings slump with a new challenge

Our family got its savings mojo back this month and reduced our grocery bill by 50%! Those of you who have been doing Simple Savings for a while and have paid off your mortgages know how it is easy to slip with saving. Whilst a mortgage is a drive for many people to save, since paying ours off I realised our efforts had waned. The motivation to save had gone. So our family took February's No Spend Month to the extreme and bought only half our usual amount of groceries. We spent $400 instead of $800 or more and instead of buying, we made biscuits and bread, ate everything in the vegie garden that could be eaten (lots of silverbeet!), used the stocks in the pantry and freezer, ate leftovers religiously and made presents instead of buying. The result was that my husband's hard earned wages were hardly touched for the month compared to usual! This has motivated me to save more and more each month to save for a caravan and nice family holidays, including a trip around Europe! Thanks Simple Savings!

Contributed by: Belinda Lansley

An idea with quirks that works

I know this hint is a little quirky, but it works for me so I thought I'd share it with you.

I used to love to buy things, just for the sake of it. It didn't matter what it was, who it was for or how much it cost. I just couldn't help going out, buying something and bringing it home. As you can imagine, this shopping habit got me into a lot of financial trouble. Even after cancelling my credit cards and devising a budget, I still had these shopping cravings. So I came up with this unusual plan:

I now borrow items from the library to curb my appetite for buying things!

I warned you it was a little crazy.

Instead of going to the shops and using my credit card or splashing out cash, I go to the library, (sometimes with a list!) and borrow things. Magazines, DVDs, CDs and books all come home in my recycled shopping bag, with my 'receipt' (return due date receipt) and I even use my 'credit card' (library card) to pay for them. It really does work. Now I just have to devise a plan to get them back on time and not pay overdue borrowing fees!

Contributed by: Roxy M

No Spend Month every three months

It was not until I was on my way home that this aged brain suddenly realised I had bought enough ingredients for four of each meal. Out of stupidity and lack of thought I had actually hit on a winner. The next few nights I cooked the meals, made one serving for me and froze the rest in meal lots. Over the next few weeks I added to my meal list and ended up with a variety of meals from which to choose, plus I saved myself literally hundreds of dollars by stopping panic buying and takeaways. And of course I was at last eating in a healthy way.

Every three months I have enough meals to last me for the entire month, plus I can feed any unexpected visitors. I have made sure that it does not become boring and have now incorporated the same system into work lunches and every now and then breakfasts.

So, all in all the old girl has now become this very budget conscious, gourmet cook and I have to admit it has given me a real sense of achievement. Money is still tight, but I am not being strangled by the lack of it anymore.

Contributed by: Lynn Earley

If you like these tips and want more we have another 18,659 of them in our members area. If you would like a membership, it is a tiny $21 per year. Grab a membership here.

3. Supporting Each Other in the Forum

If you would like a helping hand with your No Spend challenges or if you are No Spend Master ready to guide others, pop into our paid members' forum.

In the forum you can start your own No Spend Challenge thread, similar to the one SalliMumof3 started or join the group thread started by the always magnificent Claire M.

The forum is for paid Vault Members only. If you would like a membership, it is a tiny $21 per year. Grab a membership here.

4. Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!

We want to watch you succeed at your No Spend Challenge, and we would like to share your success to inspire others. To encourage you to show us how well you are doing we are giving away $200 in prizes.

The winners will be the most inspiring story in each category. Please send your No Spend Challenge tales to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by midnight, March 1st. Here are the three categories:

Category 1: Show us how you avoided 20 non-essential purchases to win $25
Category 2: Show us how you avoided 50 non-essential purchases to win $50
Category 3: Show us how you avoided all non-essential purchases to win $125

Please make sure your emails states which category you are entering. The full competition rules are here.

Last Month's Winners: T-shirts and Dinners

The shirt competition was won by Janine Daniels she made her husband a T-shirt that would be perfect for my husband. Janine has won $50 for her great effort.

Mona won $50 in our Dinner table competition. Here is one of her delicious dinner photos.

5. We Are Seeking a Writer

Simple Savings needs a new writer. If you are a master wordsmith, love helping people and have a spare 4-5 hours a week, send me an email (jobs@simplesavings.com.au) and tell me why you would be perfect for the job.

Till next time...

Goodbye for now... I hope you have a fantastic month. I'm really looking forward to hearing how your "No Spend" Challenges go.

Many grins,
Fiona

January 2020 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - January 2020

Greetings!

This year our focus is on helping the planet. Do you know, everything frugal that we do helps the planet? From growing your own food, buying less, using less, re-using items, fixing and mending, cooking efficiently - it all helps. Saving money and helping the planet go hand in hand.

I hope you are well and safe. The fires are scary and sad. When people are evacuated after the fires because towns lack food and water, it scares everyone because it shows how much we take for granted.

It is time to stop taking things for granted and do all we can to care for each other. At times like these, all the frugal knowledge we have, all the things we do not only help ourselves, they also help our neighbours. They even help people who haven't been born yet.

So let's make a difference in 2020. Let's do our best to be frugal and help the planet.

Happy savings,

Fiona

PS: Apologies for not getting this newsletter out at the start of January. Sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed. I'll do my best to make sure February's newsletter is sent to you by February 1st.

This Year's Challenges

This year, we have set a frugal challenge for every month. You will find the full challenges in the new 2020 calendar.

If you haven't downloaded your FREE Simple Savings calendar yet, you can do so here.

Here are the challenges for the year ahead. I'm looking forward to doing them all together!

January: Conserve Water
February: Decluttering
March: Emergency Prep
April: Waste Not, Want Not
May: $21 Challenge
June: Know Your Area
July: Get Moving
August: Tasty. No Skill Required.
September: Grow Your Own
October: Shopping Online
November: Low Impact Gifts
December: Take a Break

January's Challenge: Conserving Water

As you can see from the list above, this month's challenge is all about conserving water. It couldn't be more timely. To begin making a difference, we would like you to think about doing the following in your household. You can either start off gently, or throw yourself in at the deep end (yes, that pun was intended)!

Easy - Change one water wasting habit

Moderate - Change two water wasting habits

Difficult - Revamp your whole water usage

Before you get started saving every precious drop, we suggest you:

Read this whole newsletter. It is filled with tips and tricks to help you reduce your water usage, some of which you may never have considered before.
Do your research. While we have great tips and information on conserving water in this newsletter and in our Vault, we are not the only place to look. There are a number of great sites around, like this one for example:

https://wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/?view=list
Choose your challenge. Once you have sourced some ideas and had a think about some of the things you can do this month, set yourself some goals. Such as, do you want to change just one habit, or do you want to go all in?
Make a plan. Choose the habits you want to change, write down the new habits you would like to replace them with, make your old habit hard to do, make your new habit easy to do and create yourself memory triggers to help you on your way.
Take action. Get in there and do it! Be the change you wish to see in the world.

What can my household do?

When was I was trying to work out how we could lower our water usage, I ran into a huge number of problems. For example, I didn't know things like:

How much water do we use?

What is normal?

How are we using all this water?

Am I frugal or wasteful with water?

In case you are also asking yourself the same questions, here is how you go about finding out:

How much water does my household use?

There are two ways to work this out. If you get a water bill, it details how much water you use per day. Divide this number by the people in your household. This will give you your daily water consumption per person. If you don't receive a water bill, this website can help you work it out.

https://www.hunterwater.com.au/Save-Water/Water-Usage-Calculator.aspx

What is normal?

Our water consumption falls into two categories. 'At home' water usage and 'unseen' water usage. On average, Australians use 282 litres of water in the home every day. Across the country, this ranges from 100 litres in some coastal regions to 800 litres in dry inland areas. Most water used is not in the home. It is 'unseen' water which is used to grow food and in the workplace. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics we each consume 2520 litres per day.

To work out whether or not your household is above or below average for your area, Google the average usage for your water region with these search words:-

"(Your region name) average household water consumption"

For example, I live on the Sunshine Coast, where the average is 170 litres per person. So my Google search was 'Sunshine Coast average household water consumption'.

How are we using all this water?

Let's look at how we are using all this water in our homes and elsewhere.

At home water use:

Flushing the toilet (single flush cistern) = 12 litres
Bath = 100 litres
Shower (10 minutes) = 200 litres
Dishwasher load = 50 litres
Washing machine load = 150 litres
Brushing teeth with tap running = 5 litres
Drinking, cooking, cleaning per person per day = 10 litres
Hand basin = 5 litres per use
Garden sprinkler = 1000 litres per hour
Garden dripper = 4 litres per hour
Car washing with hose = 200 litres
Hosing the driveway = 100 litres
Total daily consumption per household = 900 litres

These numbers came from

https://www.rwcc.nsw.gov.au/save-water/average-water-use/

Unseen water use:
An apple = 70 litres
A glass of beer = 75 litres
A glass of wine = 120 litres
Bag of chips = 185 litres
Slice of bread = 40 litres
Cup of tea = 35 litres
Cup of coffee = 140 litres
A potato = 25 litres
An egg = 135 litres
Glass of milk = 200 litres
Hamburger = 2400 litres
Cotton t-shirt = 2000 litres
Leather shoes = 8000 litres
One kilo of beef = 16,000 litres

(This data came from Cool Australia)

Are we wasteful or frugal with water?

In case you are wondering, 'What about me? Am I wasteful or frugal with water?', here is a little quiz our magnificent long time member Claire M put together:

Are you guilty of doing any of these?

Running the tap while cleaning your teeth or washing your hands.
Spending too long in the shower, or having a deep bath often.
Washing up and rinsing dishes under a running tap with no plug or basin.
Handwashing clothes under a running tap.
Not fixing a leaking tap or cistern.
Boiling more water than you really need for hot drink, or making stock then tipping out the rest down the sink.
Using sprinklers and turning them on, then forgetting about it until next morning or hours later.
Filling a child's wading pool with the hose, then forgetting to turn it off, or allowing children to play with the hose while filling.
Allowing children to play under the hose, or using the hose to make a water slide in the backyard.
1. Leaving the hose running while you wash the car
2. Hosing the lawns to keep them green.
3. Watering gardens every day, or just the leaves and not the root area.

This quiz has come from Claire's Water Saving Challenge thread in the Forum, where she and some other fantastic members are supporting each other to save. They have done an amazing job of collecting together all the hints and Forum threads which will help you with your challenge!

NB: To access the Forum, you need to be a Vault - or paid - member. To become a Vault member and unlock thousands of saving tips on every subject, click here!

Our 100 litre daily target

In the Lippey household this month, we have been examining our water habits. In our house, we use 132 litres per person per day. While this is below the average for our region, it is not great. At the moment, the Southern Downs Regional Council are asking people to reduce their water usage to 100 litres per day.

To meet the desired target, our household needs to cut our use by 32 litres per person - 192 litres in total for our household - every day. This is going to be tough!

I thought the hardest part about reducing our at home water usage would be getting the kids on board. But they have been great. I'll tell you more about them later.

I have been looking at our water habits in this household and these are the changes we can make now.

Re-using towels

Some of my children have this really annoying habit of only using their towel once, throwing it in the wash and then going to the cupboard in the hallway for a fresh towel. Part of the reason it has gone on for so long is we didn't have enough towel rails. There wasn't really anywhere for the kids to hang their towels, so they left them in a pile on the floor. The other part is they are being lazy and short of becoming a towel Nazi, I have no way of knowing who is or isn't re-using their towels.

The first step in my plan is to add more towel rails to the bathroom. I bought them months ago, now we just need to install them! A few months ago I also read a hint about buying different colour towels and assigning them to a child. This way, you know which child is hanging up their towel. It is a great idea, but buying new towels is excessive, so I'm going to sew coloured tags on our towels, assign each child with two towels, then remove the rest of the towels from circulation.

This way, each child will have to look after their towel, or they will either not have a clean towel or have to try and pinch their sibling's clean towel. This will be entertaining!

We used to have a similar problem with tea towels in the kitchen. Instead of hanging up the tea towel and re-using it, they would leave it in a soggy mess by the sink and get a fresh one from the drawer. To stop to problem with tea towels I removed all but two tea towels from the kitchen and hid the rest. It worked.

(I thought the kids would argue and whinge. But on the contrary, they are all on board. They really want to help.)

Re-using cups

Some days we do three dishwasher loads and most of it is cups. My kids use a glass once and that is it. Part of the reason is our cups look the same, but mostly it is laziness and me allowing my kids to have wasteful habits. I'm taking the advice of one of the hints below and am going to put coloured elastics on each person's cup. That will be their cup for the day. Then I'll remove the rest of the cups from the kitchen.

(I thought this would be a battle. But, the kids are super keen on this idea too.)

Timing showers

When it comes to showers we are pretty decadent. It is probably our most wasteful water habit. The water is so lovely, we often forget that we are in the shower and only get out when someone bangs on the wall!

To curb this I have bought a waterproof clock and shower timer.

(I bought the timer from AliExpress. Which means it will take a bit of time to arrive. But already the kids have started reducing their shower times. Last night Tristan said to me, "Look how quick I was in the shower. Were you watching?" "No, I don't watch you in the shower." "Then were you listening? Were you? It was the quickest I've ever been!" I'll let you know how it goes with the timer!

Watering the garden with rainwater

At the moment, I water the garden with drinking water. Up until writing this newsletter I had never considered any other options. However, is time for that to change. It is time to be smarter and get a water tank. But, the problem is, I know very little about water tanks.

After researching tanks, their cost effectiveness, regulations and rebates. I have come to the conclusion. I still know nothing about tanks. Zip. Nada.

This means getting a rainwater tank to water my veggies and wicking bed will need to be a long term goal. If you are an expert on water tanks however, I would love to hear from you. Please send me an email to info@simplesavings.com.au

Unseen Water Usage

So already we have some solid and hopefully effective ways of reducing our at home water usage in place. But what about our unseen water usage? How can we lower that?

Lowering our unseen water usage is tricky because it is hard to measure. On the unseen water usage list above, it shows 16,000 litres of water is used to produce one kilo of meat. When we eat meat for dinner, our family of six has between 600g (bolognaise) to 1.8 kg (lamb roast). At the moment, we eat meat five or six nights a week. Reducing this to three to four nights a week will save an average 32,000 litres of water a week. It will also save a tonne of money.

Other ways we can reduce our unseen water use are:-

Grow more of our own food
Live a more minimalist lifestyle
Limit purchases
Buy second hand goods
Eat less processed food
Eat more vegetarian and vegan meals

If you would like some recipes for vegetarian and vegan meals, mobile minimalist Jackie Norman and her husband Gareth are giving away a free recipe ebook, called 'Easy Veganuary'. If you would like to download a copy, you can do it direct from here

Here is one of their latest recipes:

Summer Asparagus Salad

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a side

This is our favourite salad right now! So quick to throw together, only a few ingredients and we love the zingy lemon-mayo dressing. Vegan mayonnaise is available readily from most supermarkets, however you can also use regular.

Ingredients:

1 bunch slender asparagus spears
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
60g leafy greens, such as mesclun
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (one for cooking the asparagus, one for the dressing)
3 tbsp vegan mayonnaise (available from supermarkets, or you can use regular)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sunflower seeds, to garnish

Method:

First, prepare the asparagus by discarding the ends and cutting the rest into bite-size pieces. Put a splash of water in a frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat, along with one tablespoon of the lemon juice. Add in the asaparagus and cook gently for 6 - 8 minutes, until the stems are softened. Set aside and let it cool for five minutes.

Add the cooled asparagus to a large bowl, along with the celery, leafy greens, mayonnaise and the other tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix well and season with a good scrunch of salt and pepper. Serve, garnished with sunflower seeds.

For more delicious vegan and plant-based recipes, check out their Facebook page, 'Camper Van Kitchen'.

Water Saving Tips from the Vault

With so many fantastic water conserving hints in the Savings Vault, there is really no excuse for us all not to be doing our bit to help the planet right now! Here are some good ones to get you started.

Use less dishwashing water

Here's a great hint for saving water. It is especially helpful in water-restricted areas and with rising water costs. Buy a $2.00 wash basin that fits nicely into your kitchen sink and use it to wash dishes in. The basin holds less water than the sink so it saves on water usage. You use less detergent so that saves money also. Then you can pour the water on your garden plants outside, so you save three times over!

Contributed by: Valerie Blake

Saving hundreds of litres in water

Despite a lengthy drought in Brisbane, I have saved over 35,000 litres of water in our pool and haven't had to use any tap water to water the garden in two years! Two years ago I attached a hose to the spouting of our house, so that I could fill the pool with rainwater as it fell and I could capture water for our pot plants and herb garden. This has saved us hundreds of dollars. Even a light sprinkle fills my 48 litre container, giving me two weeks of free water for the pot plants! Also, during the summer months I encourage my family to take 'Norwegian showers', which involves wetting yourself all over, then turning off the shower, lathering your body, and washing your hair, then turning the shower back on to rinse off. We have dropped our water consumption from one kilolitre per day to .65 kilolitres per day!

Contributed by: Keith Treuel

Water saving tricks from way back

We saved over $100 on a new-fangled water saving device! Recently we saw a new type of garbage bin being advertised in the local paper. It had a tap screwed into the bottom of it and was being promoted as a water saving device for $140. We couldn't help chuckling at the hefty price tag as my handy hubby had made us one of these a long time before! He just went to Bunnings, bought an ordinary garden tap and fittings for around $15 and fitted the tap to our existing garbage bin. I just wheel it in the laundry when I do a load of washing and get 60 litres of grey water to use on the garden. The bin can still be used for the normal round of rubbish on a weekly basis. Much cheaper than paying $140 for the same thing. My dad even used to do this too, using an old metal drum tied to a golf cart buggy on wheels!

Contributed by: Karin

Saving water saves money

We implemented all these water saving methods and found it very easy to change our old habits with simple common sense.

Brushing teeth: One small glass of water, wet toothbrush in glass, after brushing rinse mouth with water from glass then rinse toothbrush in remaining water.

Showers: Purchase a large round bucket from Crazy Clarks or similar outlet, place in the shower and stand in it. Turn shower on, wet hair and body, turn shower off, shampoo hair, turn water on and rinse hair, turn water off, wash body all over with body washer and shower soap, turn water on and rinse. You will be amazed at the small amount of water used!

Bathing children: It is very easy to bathe a small child in the large round bucket under the shower - plus they think it is great fun!

Toilets: Transfer the water from large shower bucket into toilet cisterns, and use it to flush the toilet.

Night visits: Don't flush during the night after urination, one flush first thing in the morning is sufficient, or use saved bucket water.

Older dishwashers: Put an 'Out of Order' sign on the dishwasher and wash dishes

the old fashioned way! New models usually use less water than hand washing.

Taps: When running water from the hot tap from cold to hot, use the electric jug to save the cold water. Boil the jug and then transfer to vacuum flasks for tea/coffee during the day. When leftover water from the flask is cool, fill up water bottles and put in fridge for drinking.

Washing machine: Use the water from shower tubs for the first cycle wash and don't over use soap powder.

Contributed by: Margaret Both

How an elastic band saves washing up and the environment

Don't you hate it when someone uses a clean glass out of the cupboard every time they have a drink? Me too. So I came up with this nifty water saving idea. Everyone in my family has a different coloured elastic band which they put around their drinking glass, so glasses don't get mixed up during the day. Each family member keeps the same glass all day and refills when necessary. Really cuts down on the number of glasses we wash each day. By doing this we save water and teach the kids a good lesson about waste.

Contributed by: Claudia Frasca-jones

Hundreds saved with handy friends' help

My husband saved $500 - $1000 installing the plumbing for a rainwater tank with a friend. Although he is not a handyman, he has friends who are! One gave him four off-cut wooden planks (which would normally cost $130) at no charge, to make the base on which the tank stands and even trimmed them to the required size and supplied brackets. Used sump oil was painted on to protect the wood - again, no cost. Crusher dust for the base was $33 for a cubic metre. Piping to connect the tank up to the drain pipes was another $100. He and another friend spent a few hours over several evenings connecting it all up. In exchange for his time and use of his tools, my husband helped out at his friend's pizza stall at a local food and wine festival. So for the grand total of $133 our new tank is installed, saving a small fortune in plumber's fees and wood for the base. As my husband has always said, 'What goes around comes around!'

Contributed by: Jane Frederick

Digital timer reduces water bills

We have four kids, and found our first water bill after returning to Australia from living in New Zealand, was huge! One way we thought of reducing it was by buying a digital timer that the kids use when they have their showers. Normal shower - three minutes, which is plenty. Hairwashing nights - a bit longer! The timer beeps loudly when time is up, we can hear it in other parts of the house, so can also keep a check on whether they are using the timer properly! This is working well so far and it is amazing how much time they used to waste (and water and money!) standing under the shower.

Contributed by: Leanne Kitson

Bonus quick links for Vault members:

Digital timer reduces water bills (forum)

Put an end to water hammer for $8

Turn air into water

Use 50% less hot water, save 50% more!

Try some speedy washing

Turn the pressure down

Washing away excess bills

Set laundry days reduces water bill

Competition: What is your best water saving tip?

Hopefully the ideas and information you have read so far has already got you well and truly inspired to conserve water. Perhaps you already do some of them - good on you! What other things do you and your household do to save water? What other brainwaves have you come up with, which have worked for you? We would love to hear! They can be as wacky or as innovative as you like, as long as they work.

Send your entries to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by January 27th to be in the competition. The best five tips will win $20 each. Thank you for sharing your clever ideas and helping others.

Leg Up Program: Update

In our last newsletter, we told you about our exciting new Leg Up program. This is where we give one Savings Vault membership away for every full price membership purchased, so that we can help even more people.

Hopefully, this program will be up and running to launch in February's newsletter. If you would like to apply early and be one of the first people to get a membership, fill in our early application form.

Did you make a plan?

We hope you have enjoyed this month's newsletter and our focus on conserving water. I hope you have learned some useful tips and tricks. Now you are nearly at the end, have you made a plan for saving water? Do you have any questions? If you want to talk more on the subject, the best place to go is Claire's challenge thread in the Forum. Good luck!

Till next time

Many grins,

Fiona

July 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - July 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going 'Cheep'
Which Came First, the Chicken or the Veg?
Naomi's 'Cut and Paste' Chicken Tractor!
Best of the Forum: Backyard Farmers
Best of the Vault: Get Your Garden Going!
$21 Challenge - Read Chapter 2 Free!
NEW! Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Too Much Like Hard Work
Homeopathy Corner: Snail Bait
From Last Month: Share the House, Halve the Cost?
This Month's Help Request: Affordable Office Furniture
Savings Story: Get off the Merry-Go-Round and Get Ahead!

Hello,

How are you going? Good, I hope! All is well here. I'm really excited about this month's 'From the Yard' challenge! This month, your mission is to lower your food bill by spending 16 hours of your time (four hours a week) transforming your yard from a useless space into a food producing asset.

Which leads to the question 'how?' If producing your own food is that easy, why haven't you already done it? I guess it is a bit like the $21 Challenge. It might sound hard at first, but once you have done your research, made a plan and given it a go, you discover it is actually easy and fun! So that is what we would like you to do this month - give growing your own food a go. Then you will be a able to share some of success these guys have already acheived:

"After being inspired by the $21 Challenge I have found a way to save a whopping $3120 a year on my groceries! I used to go shopping weekly and spend around $150 for my family of five. Regardless of how much I needed for the week I always managed to spend the same amount of money. I would then find myself throwing away unused fruits and vegetables and finding old tins in the cupboard months later.

"However, I decided that I would try to make my shopping last two weeks and do a 'mini-shop' on the second week. This involved buying only the bare necessities, such as bread, milk and a few top up vegetables. I now find I spend no more than $30 on the second week of shopping, I am being much more creative in the kitchen and spending less time at the shops. A win all round!" (Kellie)

"Not so good for the Simple Savings team but a saving for me - I BORROWED the $21 Challenge book from the library! I am unemployed at the moment and have really loved the tips. Also the children I look after love to choose which recipe to try. We have used up a lot of items from the freezer and cupboard which normally would sit there or be thrown out. With a house move imminent I now have less to pack too! Congratulations on a wonderful book and website, I have spread the word!" (Penelope Dawe)

"I would like to thank you for the Power Saving Calculator. Using this has helped our family save loads of money and be more energy efficient. I now apply this calculator to my other gas and water usage bills and it is starting to have the same effect on our savings." (Tracey Rowe-Tucker)

"Thank you Simple Savings. Six months ago I was informed my son would require braces. Although a payment plan was organised my first payment was to be a lump sum of over $1500. I am a single parent and was quite stressed at the thought of trying to come up with this amount of money in such a short time. After joining Simple Savings I used the Savings Diary to see where my money was going and how I could save. Using the helpful tips and recipes from this site, not only did I manage to make this payment, but I could also afford to move house after the units we were renting were sold and all tenants were evicted. Thank you again Simple Savings, I will continue to save with the help of your site." (Sharon Bennett)

"I really enjoyed the Double Dinner Challenge. It all started with me putting one pork hock into the slow cooker with three cups of water. Now our freezer is filling up and I never have to stress over meals. Tonight, we are having chops. I hope everyone is as successful as we have been." (Linda Stapleton)

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

PS: Simple Savings now has its own FACEBOOK page! If you would like your friends to be Simple Savers too, tell them about us by posting something nice on our Facebook page. We love compliments!

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going 'Cheep'

'Just look at these!' Sally grumbled to Pete as she was cooking breakfast. 'We pay through the nose for 'high quality eggs' and what do we get? Paper thin shells, washed out looking yolks - and as for the whites - they just splat all over the place! I refuse to pay $5.99 a dozen for eggs like these. I want eggs like Hanna has!'

'To get eggs like Hanna has you have to have chickens, dear,' Pete smiled. 'Then that's what we'll do!' Sally replied. 'Just think Pete, we could be eating delicious, perfectly formed, golden yolked eggs for breakfast every morning from our very own chickens - instead of THESE,' she stabbed her fork in her runny egg, eyeing it with disdain.

'I know what's coming next,' Pete said drily. 'You want me to build a chicken run? Sorry love but you're going to be waiting a while. You've already given me 101 jobs to do! Nice idea though!' He gave her a kiss and got up and left the table. Sally fumed as she finished her breakfast. 'I'll show him! We WILL have our own chickens. I'll build them a run myself! There must be some plans on the Internet or something. How hard can it be?'

2. Which Came First, the Chicken or the Veg?

Like Sally, once upon a time I craved fresh eggs with golden yolks so high that butter could fall off the side the way a mountain climber slides off Mount Everest. But I thought owning chickens was too hard, so instead I tried my hand at growing mouth watering vegies.

I trotted off to the nursery and bought punnets of seedlings and a box of Seasol. Then I took them home, planted and watered them, and waited impatiently for them to grow. Eight weeks later, I was rewarded with such a pathetic crop of vegetables that I came to the conclusion it would have been cheaper and easier if I had just bought them at the supermarket! The only plant that did grow beautifully in my garden was a cabbage. I worshipped that cabbage, my one true success like I had climbed Everest itself, without falling off. I was so proud of that cabbage! Until, (wheeee, over the side!) I found out it wasn't actually a cabbage, just an inedible weed.

It was very disheartening. The main thing I learned from the experience was how little I knew, because growing vegetables is hard - if you don't know what you are doing. Someone who really knows what he is doing, however, is Jackie's (Penny Wise's) husband Noel. He is a vegie growing dynamo! Over a three month period last year Jackie's family of four harvested and ate 50 kilos of vegetables Noel grew himself. That is brilliant! That is a real... Everest of vegies.

I want to be able to grow vegies like Noel can, so in order to be a savvy gardener like he is, I have been listening very carefully and doing what he does. For example, when Noel was planting his garden, he did something very clever. He didn't go to the nursery and buy seedlings first. Instead he put a temporary chicken run in the spot where he was planning to grow vegetables.

Then, he got the chickens to prepare the vegetable beds for him! He threw in mulch and food for them, then sat back and waited while the chickens weeded the bed for him, turned the soil over for him, fertilised the bed for him and brought the soil to life. All the while giving him fresh eggs too! (I think Jackie married a very clever man!)

You see, the thing Noel knew about growing vegetables that I didn't is, the key to growing vegetables is getting the soil right. And, the easiest way to prepare the soil is by building a mobile chicken run - or a chicken tractor, as many people call them.

Even though I had heard this several times, it didn't sink in until we finally got our own chickens . Only then did I discover a few secrets about chickens and growing vegetables! Here's what I learned:

Owning chickens is easy. I thought it would be really hard, but they are a lot like keeping budgerigars, albeit very big ones! If you have enough skill to look after a cat or a dog, you have all the skills needed to get your own fresh, golden-yolked eggs every morning.
Chickens are lower maintenance than vegies. I don't mean to put growing vegetables down, far from it! However, as beginner gardeners we found the time and effort required to get vegetables out of our garden to be huge, compared to the amount required to get eggs out of our chickens. The first year I tried growing vegetables we had more failures then successes and spent several hundred dollars but only ate about $20 of our own produce. In comparison, this is the first year I have been keeping chickens and already our six chickens have given us $1000 worth of eggs!
Chickens will reward you faster than vegies. The wonderful thing about chickens is you can build your chook tractor in the morning, buy a couple of 'point of lay' chickens in the afternoon and when you wake up the next day, you will have eggs waiting for you! OK it is not always the next morning; it may take a week or two if you are unlucky but when you get that first egg, it feels like you have just conquered Mount Everest.
Chickens get you out into the fresh air . They literally drag you out to the garden. Since our kids are noisy and our vegetables were silent, the vegies had a tendency to get forgotten for long wilting stretches while we were busy doing all sorts of things with our much noisier children. However, this changed once we got chickens! Chickens will not be ignored. Our girls are always so happy to see us, that their joy drags everyone out into the yard. Spending time in the yard has become much more fun and while we are out tending to the chickens, we now also use this time to tend to the vegie garden!
Chickens won't tie you down . You can still go on holidays. Often if you own livestock you are always bound to your home and going on holidays is a huge issue. Not so with chickens. Many people who are reluctant about minding a cat or a dog will happily care for your chickens, because they get to eat the eggs. Egg-cellent! Speaking of neighbours, I don't recommend you get a rooster.
Chickens reduce your food bill. Before we had chickens we ate 28 eggs per week. Now we eat 42 eggs per week! This means we enjoy virtually FREE eggs on toast for breakfast instead of having to buy cereal. AND virtually FREE egg based meals for dinner. AND the most delicious light and fluffy sponge cakes! Here is a link to a YouTube video of Miss Jacqueline demonstrating our gluten-free, dairy-free, sponge cake recipe, made with our own fresh eggs.
Chickens are environmental warriors. They are a great way for you to reduce your food miles and carbon footprint. When you have all the eggs you need in your own back yard you don't have to drive to the supermarket to get them. Home produced eggs require no trucking, packaging or other resources which are harmful to the planet. We have also greatly reduced our household waste since we started feeding all our food scraps to the chickens.
Chickens will even plant food for you! Not only are chickens great little workers in the garden, they are also great recyclers, turning food scraps into manure which fertilises the soil and in turn plants more free food for us! We have lots of tomatoes growing thanks to the chickens, not to mention pawpaw and pumpkins, and the banana plants went... er, bananas, when the chickens moved onto that patch and started their magic. If you don't have time to garden, get the chickens to do it for you!
Chickens are trendy! Hard to believe I know but they have actually become 'cool'! This was something I wasn't expecting. Our chickens are quite a neighbourhood attraction. All the kids stop to talk to the chickens and feed them. Even at dinner parties or mothers groups you will find that people with chickens have a certain 'street cred'.

It's true! It's quite common to hear people say 'I wish I could keep chickens'. The great news is, you CAN. Anybody can keep chickens. All you need are chickens and a chicken tractor. 'A chicken tractor! Where the heck am I supposed to get one of those?' I hear you ask? You're about to find out!

3. Naomi's 'Cut and Paste' Chicken Tractor!

For years I had wanted to keep chickens but every chicken tractor design I came across online was too hard for me to attempt to build with wee kiddies underfoot. I did try nagging Matt to make me one last year when I was heavily pregnant. Unfortunately I got the same response as Sally did in this month's story. Apparently, I had already given him a million jobs to do, such as programming some obscure money saving website and proofing a book! *mock sigh and an eye roll* In the end, I bought a VERY EXPENSIVE chicken tractor out of desperation. By the time we had bought a few books and read up on the subject, got our chickens and had our chicken tractor delivered I had spent $1100!

Naomi also wanted to keep chickens but had gone through a similar experience. All the plans she came across online were too complicated and hard to understand. She came to the conclusion it was going to be impossible to build her own chicken tractor so ended up spending $500 on a flat-packed chicken coop from eBay. It was disappointingly small, heavy and in the end she got rid of the chickens and used it to house guinea pigs instead.

We didn't want you to make the same very expensive mistakes we did. So Naomi has designed a simple, lightweight, durable, fully functioning 'Cut and Paste Chicken Tractor' that EVERYONE can make for around $300. We called it 'Cut and Paste' because there are no screws and bolts involved. If you can cut with scissors and a hacksaw and glue a few bits of pipe together, then you have all the skills needed to make this very light weight chicken tractor.

The design is so simple you can make it in a day. You only need to read through the instructions, print out the shopping list, get the bits home and stick it all together. How easy is that! For those who are near a Bunnings store, we have even included their product codes and written the shopping list so you can find what you need in order as you walk around the store.

The above version is intended for keeping two to four chickens. Later on down the track if you think four chickens are not enough then you can easily get some more! All you have to do is cut the wire ties and add an extension. Later you can also change the design to suit your yard.

Note - This design is NOT fox proof. If you need to make it fox proof you will need to use chicken wire on all sides or make it a lot taller.

For Naomi's full instructions with step by step photos, shopping list and chicken purchasing tips, click here.

We have made these plans free because we want everyone to be able to make a huge difference to their food bill, their family and the planet. There is enough information here for you to get started. You can learn heaps more about keeping chickens by reading some of our many Forum threads on the subject, or through talking to our Forum members. You do have to be a paid member to do this but when you join the Vault you will enjoy an almost instant return on your investment - just like your chickens!

You can join the Vault here.

4. Best of the Forum: Backyard Farmers

Whether you're a first time gardener or a seasoned 'green thumb' the Savings Forum is always an excellent place to talk about the great outdoors. Check out some of these discussions for starters!

The best way to learn self sufficient living?

Do you dream of living 'the good life' but don't know where to start? Help is at hand! In this thread you will discover some great tips how to live a thrifty, self sufficient lifestyle.
read more...

How many eggs did you get today?

A fun and inspiring thread about counting eggs! This thread is also a great place to talk about what type of chickens you have, how many and how good they are at laying beautiful fresh eggs for you, your family and friends.
read more...

Chicken talk for those who have/want chickens

Chicken lovers unite! Whether you need advice on keeping chooks, want to cluck along with other members about your chickens or learn from their tales, this is the thread for you.
read more...

What are you growing this year?

Read this thread and prepare to be amazed! You wouldn't believe the variety of fruit and vegies our members grow. This discussion will inspire you, as well as pass on some helpful tips, such as which plants are suited for the tropics as well as the colder climates.
read more...

Backyard sufficiency for renters/people on small blocks

You don't need to own a sprawling property to enjoy self sufficient living. If you are renting or living on a smaller block you will find some fantastic tips here. Some members are even using mini greenhouses inside!
read more...

5. Best of the Vault: Get Your Garden Going!

More people have turned to vegie gardening as a way to reduce their food bills in the last few years than they have in decades. Join the trend and get growing, with the help of some of these tips from the Savings Vault!

Meet a growing family

Our family does the best we can to help save the planet, and save ourselves money, by growing our own vegetables and trading with others who do the same. I have a few tips for growing your own seedlings which can reduce costs in the garden and help you recycle household waste.

Seed Trays - Reuse seedling trays you had previously purchased, or be inventive and reuse something you may have placed in your recycling bins such as toilet rolls or plastic milk bottles, punched with several holes for drainage. Use soil from your garden or worm castings - these are very good for seedlings.

Sourcing Seeds - We get our seeds from heirloom catalogues; these have greater variety, are cheaper than hardware or nursery seeds and as they're not hybrids, the seed is always viable. We always let a few plants go to seed and collect them. Last year, one broccoli plant provided enough seed to fill a brown paper bag; that will last several years and all for an initial cost of around $3.00. A year's supply of broccoli from the shops would cost well over $100 for a family of three.

Making markers - To mark out which seeds are which, make your own markers from recycled materials. We use the coated cardboard from heat treated milk containers. They cut easily and are water repellent so they can be used over and over again. If you use permanent markers, sunlight won't fade the writing.

Starting seeds - To get seeds started in cold weather you can keep them inside, on top of the hot water heater, or make mini greenhouses from plastic cartons and bottles. I was lucky enough to get a plastic greenhouse which is small enough to fit on a balcony or veranda but large enough to produce enough seedlings for our vegetable garden year round.

All this planting, marking and watering might sound labour intensive but it only takes about one hour a week.

Contributed by: Kristy Faris

Never buy lettuce again

I'm never buying salad items again! For $2.99, the cost of one store bought lettuce, I bought a packet of lettuce seeds containing approximately 50 seeds. Add to that a $4.99 bag of compost, and a bit of muscle to dig up a patch of garden, and I now have fresh salad every day for only $0.15c a lettuce!

I can't eat it all, so I'm giving some away to friends and family which means they are saving from my savings! So simple, fresh and tasty and a huge saving of $141.52!

Contributed by: Lisa

Pay yourself for home grown fruit and veg

I save by paying for the fruit and vegetables I grow in my garden! As I harvest what I have grown I put some money in a box. I don't charge much, for example $0.50c for a large cabbage and $0.10c for enough carrots for a meal, but it's enough so that at the end of the month I have a reasonable amount of money for something I really need.

Contributed by: Nanna Poddy

Plant rhubarb, grow savings

Save money by growing your own rhubarb. It's so easy to grow, lasts for years and you can use it all year round.

A small bunch can cost $2.00 to $6.00 in the supermarket, but one or two plants will produce plenty for a small family. If you know someone who has several crowns of rhubarb, ask if they will split one or two for you. Don't bury the crown when planting and give it plenty of compost or some manure to start with. For longer stalks, plant it inside a wide pipe about 30cm-40cm high. This will encourage long stems as the leaves reach for the light.

When the stalks are thick and red, pull them away from the crown to harvest, rather than cutting them. To freeze, wash and trim both stalk ends - don't use the leaves, which are poisonous - then cut into pieces about 1cm long. Put into a plastic bag, sprinkle a little sugar over and shake before sealing and popping into the freezer. It's then all ready for a quick rhubarb pie, crumble or whatever you fancy. Keep harvesting whenever it is ready and you'll never run out.

You can use rhubarb leaves for cleaning the inside of a saucepan too! Just boil up the leaves in the saucepan with plenty of water and stains seem to disappear. Be sure to rinse well afterwards.

Contributed by: Val Solomon

Plant tomato seeds and sprouting potatoes

When using fresh tomatoes, put the seeds into a pot and you will save money by growing your own tomatoes. You will find they not only look better but taste better too. The same goes for potatoes. When you have them a little too long they will grow little eyes in them. Just plant them in the ground and you will have your own fresh potatoes. They take around six weeks to grow. When they start to flower put some dirt over the base of the plants to cover the growing spuds. When the plant above ground is dead it is time to harvest and enjoy.

Contributed by: Teresa Bloomfield

Sweet potato all year round

Many people do not realise this, but it is possible to grow 'seasonal' vegetables all year round! For the price of a single sweet potato, our family enjoys its homegrown produce summer and winter. It takes very little time and effort. First you need some large, empty pots - old plant pots will do. Next, put some shredded paper in the bottom, followed by either compost or cheap potting mix. Then, purchase one small sweet potato and cut it into four. Let the cut quarters dry off for a week, then plant into your pots. In a small area, these will grow and trail and make a nice display of greenery; in a large area they will grow against a fence and cover the area.

After six months we take out and use a sweet potato and always cut a little to dry. Then we simply put the newly dried pieces back into the pots and start again! I have six pots going and these keep us in sweet potatoes all year. You can do this with other vegetables too, using pots or whatever else you can find. I have converted an old plastic baby pool into a vegie garden and use it to grow lettuces, just picking the leaves as we need them. Even an old tyre in one corner of the yard has been filled with shredded paper and soil and grows beetroot, which are delicious served cold in summer, and hot in winter with a dollop of sour cream!

Contributed by: Betty Threlfo

Tasty free rockmelons in your garden

I enjoy a fresh home-grown breakfast every morning! I love eating rockmelon for breakfast, but I didn't love the price, so I planted the entire seed ball of a rockmelon that I bought to eat back in the spring. I am now getting my own fresh and tasty, chemical free rockmelons at a fraction of the price!

Contributed by: Katie Chambers

A garden that grows and goes Contributed by: Shannon Dobson

Eggs-cellent idea for vegetable growers Contributed by: Jo Murphy

Four easy-to-grow herbs Contributed by: Julie Chissell

Nothing nuts about this home made pesto! Contributed by: Heather Mackay

6. $21 Challenge - Read Chapter 2 Free!

Just in case you haven't got round to reading Chapter 2 of the $21 Challenge book yet, here's another reminder! When we were writing the book, the second chapter kind of happened by accident. You see, in this chapter, families share their experiences of the $21 Challenge and why they love it. Once we read everyone's feedback, the many benefits were so varied and so great, we just had to put them all in the book - and you know what? It ended up being our favourite chapter!

It looks like we weren't the only ones who enjoyed it either! We decided to make the second chapter free because when Jackie was touring around libraries talking about the $21 Challenge, she discovered that people couldn't stop talking about the second chapter of the book. They said it really inspired them and made them want to save money. We thought that was fantastic but even more so, we thought it was really important that everyone could read that chapter, so that we can help as many people as possible.

So here they are! Both chapters are available to read on the Simple Savings site, or you can also read them on our Facebook page. Check it out and tell your friends too!

You can read Chapters 1 and 2 here: (Chapter One) (Chapter Two)

Oh - and don't forget (*shameless plug*) you can purchase the WHOLE $21 Challenge book here!

7. NEW! Cooking with Mimi

We are pleased to welcome a new regular addition to our newsletters. By popular demand, we proudly introduce one of our favourite savvy cooks from the Forum - Mimi!

For a long time now, Mimi has shared her delicious frugal recipes in the Forum; many of which have gone on to become regular favourites with members and their families. One of seven children, Mimi is a devoted mum and an unabashed 'foodie'. Having spent years in the catering business, she likes nothing more than whipping up new creations in the kitchen. If you can buy it in shops, or eat it in a restaurant, you can bet Mimi will come up with a way to make it - for a fraction of the price!

Each month from now on, we will showcase Mimi's recipes - and enjoy every minute sampling them too! Check out this month's yummy selection!

Creamy Egg Spread

My mum used to work at a posh city hotel. She learned this recipe from the chef, who used it for afternoon teas for the 'blue rinse' ladies. This spread is delicious on sandwiches with watercress (easily grown at home), toast or on crackers of any kind.

4 cups water
6 eggs
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp finely chopped onion
½ tsp Tabasco sauce
90g softened cream cheese or labna
Seasoning to taste

Bring your four cups of water to the boil. When it's bubbling, add the eggs, and cook at a rapid boil for eight minutes.

Remove from the heat, drain and run the eggs under cold water for a minute to prevent them discolouring.

Allow the eggs to sit in cold water for five minutes, then peel, and quarter.

In a food processor bowl or blender, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, onion and Tabasco sauce until smooth. Add the eggs, cream cheese or labna and pulse until combined.

You can also just mash this together, but you won't get the same creamy consistency.

Taste and season if necessary.

Transfer to a covered bowl. Keeps well, covered, for 24-48 hours.

Poor Man's Guacamole

This dip looks just like Guacamole - with one big difference. It's made with broad beans and not an avocado in sight! Broad beans are dead easy to grow but harder to convince the family to eat. They generally look unattractively grey once steamed, but pop them out of their little grey pods, and these ravishing little vivid green babies come to life. Their flavour is just as mild as avocado, and once pureed, the texture is similar too. The beans also retain their pretty green colour, unlike avocadoes which will brown once stored as a dip, so this is a great make-ahead recipe. These ingredients make the most enormous amount so this is a winner for those feed-a-crowd occasions.

Don't let your imagination stop at using this one as a dip either. Try it as a pasta sauce, a topping for baked potatoes, and as a sandwich or wrap filling with some crunchy carrots and sprouts.

If you don't grow your own broad beans, you can buy frozen ones for under $3.00 in the frozen vegetable section of your supermarket. You will need two 500g packets for this recipe.

6 cups water
1kg broad beans
60ml olive oil
60-100ml reserved cooking liquid
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tsp fresh or minced coriander
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger, grated, minced or powdered
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small chilli, diced finely

Bring your six cups of water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add the broad beans, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender. Drain, reserving the liquid, and cool. Pinch the beans to pop them out of their pods if you wish, otherwise leave whole.

Add the steamed broad beans, lemon zest and juice, coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic and chilli to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a thick paste forms. With the motor running, drizzle 60ml of the reserved cooking liquid and 60ml of the olive oil through the chute.

Check the consistency and flavour and add salt and pepper to taste. If the dip is too firm, add up to 30ml more olive oil and cooking liquid, checking after each addition, using the same method.

Use as a dip with vegetable sticks, or as a replacement for guacamole in any Mexican dish.

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds, Crispy Bacon and Feta

Think you don't like brussels sprouts? Think again! These little morsels are scrumptious as a side dish, or light lunch. We all know the benefits of eating cruciferous vegetables - they provide great roughage and have long been touted as a cancer preventative BUT - they are seriously in need of a makeover!

Luckily, this dish is so good, even people who don't like brussels sprouts will come back for seconds. It's about as un-sprouty as they come!

500g brussel sprouts
50g flaked almonds
2 rashers middle bacon, finely diced
100g feta cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 220C.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Remove the tough outer leaves of the brussel sprouts and rinse well. Roll in a clean tea towel or paper towels to dry. Cut each sprout into quarters. Pour the olive oil and balsamic vinegar into a large bowl, and season well with salt and pepper.

Put the prepared brussel sprouts into the bowl, and toss until well coated. Pour the brussel sprouts, and the excess oil and vinegar into the lined baking tray. Bake for around 20 minutes until they start to turn golden.

While the sprouts are roasting, heat a non-stick frypan over a medium heat. When well heated, add the flaked almonds and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until they turn golden. This should take no more than a minute or two. Remove the almonds to a bowl.

Reheat the pan, and add the diced bacon. Fry the bacon until cooked to your liking. I prefer it a little underdone and soft, but the rest of the family prefers it very crisp.

Remove the brussel sprouts from the oven. Sprinkle with the cooked bacon, crumbled feta, and toasted almonds.

Return to the oven to heat the feta through, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve.

Silverbeet Coconut Curry

My mum used to grow silverbeet when we were kids. We ate it steamed with loads of butter and salt. Fortunately, I now know other ways to eat this beautiful leafy treasure! Curries are so popular these days and everyone has their favourite version. This one is full of iron. It's the perfect combination of healthy and deliciously flavoursome. Remember that the silverbeet shrinks down significantly with cooking so pile it in and let the delicious curry sauce weave its magic.

6 leaves of silverbeet, sliced down the middle to halve, then into shreds about 5cm wide
2 tbsp Thai curry paste
300ml coconut milk
300ml stock or water
3 bay leaves
2 tsp fish sauce
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced ginger
1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced (or equivalent from a jar)
2 cups rice
3 ½ cups water

Put the rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil, stir well, and cover with a tight fitting lid. Switch OFF, but leave on hotplate. Do not disturb and do not peek or the stored heat will be released and your rice will not cook. Leave for 20 minutes, then fluff the rice with a fork. Cover and keep warm while the curry is cooking.

Heat a large wok until smoking. Add curry paste, and stir fry until fragrant.

Add the coconut milk, stock (or water), bay leaves, fish sauce, sugar, ginger and lemongrass. Stir well until simmering.

Add the shredded silverbeet all at once. Stir to cover in liquid. Cover and allow to simmer for about 3-5 minutes until the silverbeet is tender. Serve with rice.

8. Penny's Blog: Too Much Like Hard Work

July 19th

Hooray! We have an abundance of broccoli in the garden again! Just in the nick of time too, as we had just run out of the stash we had frozen from the last crop and we absolutely refused to buy it from the supermarket, much too expensive! It's scary how expensive winter vegetables are to buy; it certainly makes you think twice about which ones you're prepared to pay for.

The latest statistics show the price of fruit and vegetables has risen by more than 9% over May and June so I was really impressed to see a couple of local places this week helping families to get more fresh produce for their dollar. The Glenview Fruit and Vege Market in Hamilton has been stopping traffic with their sign advertising their winter special. For $10 customers can get a broccoli, a silverbeet and a bag each of carrots, apples, onions, kumara, pears and potatoes. Or, you can buy $20 worth of freshly picked homegrown fruit and vegetables for $10 in Huntly, thanks to Kim Rangi; an enterprising Community Health Coach. Good on 'em and others like them I say!

Still, the cheapest way to save on fruit and vegies is of course to grow your own. I'm certainly grateful at this time of year for my little freezer full of broccoli, cauliflower, broccoflower, pumpkin and celery. I almost always freeze our celery as none of us like it raw but it's great in soups and stews!

Since his new job started, Noel hasn't had too much time for getting out in the garden but he's still been saving us plenty of money on our food bill - thanks to other people's vegetable gardens! He's been having a wonderful time pootling along the winding coastal roads and picking up all sorts of bargains from local roadside growers, saving at least 50% compared to supermarket prices. However, his best coup so far is the sack of about 60 avocados given to him by one of his new clients! Apparently they stay green as long as you want them; you simply put them in a warm place such as a hot water cupboard or by the fire and they will ripen over several days. We won't need to buy avocados for a VERY long time!

Because so many of the places he travels are in the back of beyond, we have to be really disciplined about making sure Noel always has plenty of lunch, drinks and snacks packed from home. It's great - he just pulls up at the nearest beach wherever he happens to be and tucks into his lunch, looking out over the sea. Mind you, almost wherever he goes on his travels his friendly new clients invite him in for sandwiches or home-made soup. How many jobs do you get like that these days?

It's a standing joke in our family that if the sky were to fall in tomorrow, Noel and Ali would survive quite comfortably, whilst left to our own devices Liam and I would undoubtedly starve. One of my favourite sayings, which I've said before and admit to pinching from Fiona is 'Give a man a fish and he will have food for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will have food for life'. Ali is definitely living proof of that! He can grow his own food, he can hunt it and he can catch it too. Only yesterday he singlehandedly brought home enough dinner to feed u have to do is pick it and eat it - where's the hard work in that? Or would you rather drive to the supermarket to get your fruit and vegies?'

Of course I don't actually say it - I just smile sweetly and bite my tongue but I find it hard to believe that so many people truly believe they don't have the time to eat the cheapest, best quality food that nature can give them - or stranger still, that they don't have the time to SAVE themselves time going shopping! I would hate to think that our years of planting and nurturing all this wonderful food might be left to rot or feed nothing but the birds and possums when we leave here. There must be other mad people like us out there who enjoy nothing better than 'too much hard work!'

July 2010

13th - Times like these

23rd - That's my boy!

9. Homeopathy Corner: Snail Bait

Snails hate homeopathy - or at least Helix Tosta, a remedy made from ground up toasted snail. Fran Sheffield has been doing some research into its effectiveness and surveying some of her customers who have been protecting their plants from snails with Helix Tosta, and the first set of results are in. 83.8% of people who used it to protect their plants said they considered the results good or excellent. That is great news for us, but sad news for the snails.

If you would like to learn more about Fran's snail experiments go to:-

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/snails-and-slugs-pack-their-bags-and-leave-with-homeopathy/

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/helix-tosta-survey-results/

10. From Last Month: Share the House, Halve the Cost?

Last month Sylvia asked:

"I am a widow and have had a male friend for three years. We live in separate houses and take it in turns to cook for each other every other night. We go away on holiday together and get along fine. We are both on a pension and finding it is getting tougher and tougher to stretch our money from payday to payday. My friend keeps suggesting that we should live together as it would basically halve our expenses but as well as the thought of giving up my independence, I am a little concerned with the legal aspect of setting up home together.

"His idea is to sell his house and move in with me. However, I'm not sure what would happen were I to pass away first (I am 67, he is 71). My own house is left to my family and I am worried that after two years, he and his family could legally be entitled to half of everything should I die before him. Although we would be living together, our friendship is only platonic and neither of us would dream of using the other's money or assets to our own advantage. However, the savings would be so great at around $1000 a month that I am starting to feel it is worth giving some serious thought. I would really love to hear any advice members could give on how we could make this living arrangement work legally, as well as anyone who has possibly been in a similar situation!"

We knew that we could rely on our wise members to offer plenty of savvy advice! Thank you to everyone who sent in helpful suggestions like these:

Platonic friends can have a pre-nup too

Any legal worries you may have about sharing your home can be solved by getting a prenuptial agreement - even though the relationship is purely platonic. It will outline what each party wants at the outset and then will be clear to everyone should either of you were to pass away during the time you are sharing the same house.

Contributed by: Diane Fawcitt

Consult a relationship lawyer

Even if you are not in a 'relationship' as such, you need to discuss exactly how this will work with your friend and then both discuss this with a relationship lawyer. It would be best to have a Contracting Out Agreement drawn up (both will need legal advice) and this will make it clear as to who is entitled to what in the event of going separate ways or one passing away. This also makes it clear to the families that you have attended to this and made provisions for them. Also, ensure your wills are both up to date and the Contracting Out Agreement is kept with the will. Good luck!

Contributed by: Shelley Turnbull

Better neighbours than friends

You can get along with a person really well on a daily basis - but living together is a whole different story, as I found out! My neighbour and I both had four year old boys. With both of us receiving single parents pension we decided we would share a house to save on expenses. One of the things we had to do early on was answer embarrassing and intimate questions from Centrelink about whether or not we were in a relationship, which we were definitely not! On the positive side it ended up being financially beneficial, however, just because we got along great as neighbours, living together was very different and we only lasted about 10 months.

Contributed by: Russell Syme

Go halves on the house

I think it's a fantastic idea that you and your friend want to live this way, but you are right, it is almost impossible to protect your children's interests beyond the grave. Here is my suggestion. When your friend sells his home, get him to 'buy into' yours. By this, I mean give you half the money and put his name on the title. You then invest the money so that, if he dies before you, you are able to buy back that share and if you die before him, then he can buy your family out of their share. This way, you not only save by living together, but you can have a little investment on the side, earning you a small income. A win-win situation I think!

Contributed by: Janine Valbergs

Seek advice from Centrelink

Before committing to sharing a house, please seek information from Centrelink before making your decision. As your friend wants to live within your home, you would be best to set the arrangement up so that he is simply renting a room from you and you are simply sharing the household expenses as housemates. This protects your finances as he would have no ability to contest a will or have grounds for entitlement as he was simply a tenant within your home. The savings and the company would be well worth the effort of legally setting the situation.

Contributed by: Emma Beatson

For better or worse - or just better?

When two friends agree to share a house, you can make a legal contract to cover your worries, just as a married couple can have a pre-nup agreement. However, there are also other things you might want to consider. You would have to have a clear agreement about splitting the bills, especially the food bill - just in case he thinks you'll do all the cooking for him! Also, bringing two households together you will both probably have items to sell as there would be two of everything, so that will require some discussion. Yet another thing to think about is, if this man becomes sick, do you want to become his carer? This would need some careful thought and you would need to have an agreement between the two of you should this arise. However, if you get on well then you could do a lot to look after each other and live much more comfortably. Good luck!

Contributed by: Annabel Brinkworth

Sharing a home doesn't have to be complicated

Platonic friends can share a house and still retain ownership of their respective estates. Any good lawyer can draw up a will which still leaves each partner's estate to his or her own family and not revert to the more recently acquired partner. The second house could be rented and the income shared. Then, should the home owner of the house in which they live pass on first, the second can recover his or her own home and allow the deceased estate to be wound up.

Contributed by: Neville Crocombe

Both parties well cared for with legal agreement

I can vouch that sharing your home with another person can be a good idea. I was a carer for someone who lived with me. We were treated as separate people by Centrelink, not as a couple. I visited my solicitor and made an additional note to go with my will that stated we were living separately. I also made provisions for the person I was caring for to be allowed a set amount of time to continue residing at our shared home should I pre-decease them, and have made mention of items they were entitled to in order to re-establish themselves elsewhere.

By doing this I have made the situation clear, it is all legal and I feel I have been fair with the re-establishment clause and effects. This has also put the other person's mind at ease because they will not suddenly find themselves homeless should anything happen to me.

We have since had a change in our relationship and have married, however, I have still left these clauses in place as the home we have I had bought prior to our marriage, and upon my death goes to my children.

Contributed by: Glenys Gordon

Pay rent when sharing a house

I can highly recommend sharing a house! It really helps to keep the finances under control. My son and I currently share a house with a male friend and have done so now for several months to save costs. Our relationship is entirely platonic and he has a girlfriend. I moved in to his place and to ensure he was legally covered should anything happen, I pay him a small amount of rent ($100 per week) which he keeps in a log book. His accountant said that as long as I am a renter, my family has no comeback should anything happen. We both sign the rent book each week to say I have paid, so the evidence is clear. We go halves in all electricity and groceries and this has saved us both heaps. It is also great to have the household chores halved! I do the housework and he keeps the gardens and so on. He uses the rent towards his rates and house insurance/repairs so it benefits him as the home owner and it all works out great for both of us!

Contributed by: Rosemary Knights

11. This Month's Help Request: Affordable Office Furniture

This month Ros asks:

If anyone has any suggestions or experiences which could help Ros, please send them in to us here.

12. Savings Story: Get Off the Merry-Go-Round and Get Ahead

I never dreamed that saving money and paying bills could be so much fun! At the start of this year my husband and I decided that we were sick of living pay to pay. It seemed like all we did was pay off the bills, only to have more to come in and not leave enough to go round. We always seemed to be juggling what to pay on what payday. One day, after having a nice long chat with my mum, my husband and I sat down and worked out a budget. We looked really closely at every bill that we paid and how much they were each month. We then divided all the bills in half and started to pay them every fortnight instead.

We also analysed all the bills to see where we could save. We bundled our home phone, Internet and pay TV together and saved ourselves more than $100 a month. We also looked into our mobile phones and saw that we were paying for a high cap plan that we were not even using! I changed them and this saved us at least another $100 per month. From then on I began going over all our bills with a fine toothed comb. In the last four months alone doing this has saved us at least $900 on various bills because the companies had our charges incorrect!

After doing this for few months the bills started to come in and to our joy we found we were in credit. It's a wonderful feeling to see a bill where you are in credit for $30, or that you only owe $3.00 on your mobile phone bill for the month!

We budget ourselves $400 for groceries each fortnight (including takeaway and so on). Anything not used goes into a tin to put towards the following fortnight. We have the same system with fuel too - we budget for it, pay it and whatever is left over goes into the kitty for the next fortnight.

We now also have an allowance for ourselves. Out of this comes our luxury items such as waxing, hairdresser, shoes, smokes, coffee, work lunches and so on. If we don't have the money for the things we want, we just have to save up until we do!

We are finally getting ahead of our bills instead of the bills getting ahead of us. There is no longer a panic if an unexpected bill comes in. Any remaining money is put towards paying off our credit card and any extra money we get (e.g. child care rebate, tax refund and so on) also goes straight on paying off this card. Once it is paid off it we will finally be putting our money where we want it - into a savings account, instead of paying off debt!

Contributed by: Kerri Shepherd-Ashby

April 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - April 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Frugal Fatigue
May is 50c Indulgence Month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winners
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Indulge Yourself
Best of the Vault: Affordable Luxuries
Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Dance Like Nobody's Watching
Homeopathy Corner: A Gift to Mothers
From Last Month: Which Laptop?
This Month's Help Request: Sweet Treats for Diabetics
Savings Story: Diamond in the Rough

Hello,

I hope you are having a lovely month and this newsletter goes some way to making it even better. Because this month we want you to treat yourself every single day! All the tips and tricks in this month's newsletter are designed to make you feel special and appreciated - just as the following emails have made me feel.

"I LOVE Simple Savings! It is such a way of life for our household now. Recently we finally gave in and bought a second car that we desperately needed. Pre Simple Savings I would have thought nothing of taking out a $10,000 loan to purchase this car. Instead I asked around if anyone was selling a car. Well - my Mum told me she was getting rid of hers and I could have it for the bargain price of $3000. It is 20 years old but in brilliant condition. I have paid her a third already and have until November to pay the rest. I am so happy to have a car that I don't have to work day night to pay back a loan and be a slave to the bank for the next five years. Best of all, I feel like a real Simple Saver in it because it isn't fancy or flash; just clean and tidy and reminds me of who I am and what I can afford. Thanks Simple Savings for changing my mindset from 'I want, I need, it must be perfect' to 'I need what fits into my budget.' " (Tia Cherry)

"I must admit to being one of those people who, when hearing of the $21 Challenge, didn't think it was possible and didn't even bother making much of an effort to achieve this goal. However, this past week I did it! I went shopping with only milk, bread and fruit on the list. I have done this before but once at the supermarket I have been easily persuaded/encouraged to buy other things. Not this time though. I left the supermarket with milk, bread and grapes and whilst shopping decided I had plenty of food in the pantry and freezer that needed to be used. Fresh veg I would harvest from the garden. I had to go shopping again later on in the week but only for milk and bread again so I still managed to stay within $21! I feel proud of having achieved this. So, thank you for the emails and newsletter which are a constant reminder to me that with a bit of effort I can save money." (Aisha Ali)

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. The $21 Challenge is being reprinted and we will have books in stock again by May 16th.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Frugal Fatigue

It was cold and wet and as Sally hopped off the bus she wished for her nice, warm, comfortable car. She was proud of herself for catching the bus to work each morning. After all, she was saving almost $100 a week on petrol and even more on parking. She knew catching the bus was the right thing to do and should have been feeling fantastic! So - why was she feeling so flat?

'What's up?' Hanna asked when Sally arrived at work. 'I don't know' Sally sighed. 'I mean - I know all this money saving makes sense, and I'm loving watching the bank balance go up but... it just feels some days like it's all work and no play,' Sally confided. 'I miss being able to treat myself to nice things. I miss my guilty splurges! Do you ever feel like that? Like maybe you're missing out?' she asked.

'Not at all!' Hanna smiled. 'I splurge all the time. Here, have one of these!' She ferreted around in her bag and brought out a sachet of 'Prince William and Catherine' bubble bath. 'I got this from the chemist for 50c, they're divine! Now tonight when you get home from work, run yourself a big, deep bath and soak in it as long as you like. It's my favourite indulgence. Guilt free and almost free!' Sally took the little sachet and was amazed to find she felt better already. She couldn't wait to get home to her right Royal bath!

2. May is 50c Indulgence Month!

There's nothing wrong with enjoying life's little luxuries. Even on the tightest budget you can afford to treat yourself on a regular basis - when you know how to do it right. This month we want to show you how you can pamper yourself every day with one of our favourite challenges - 50c Indulgences! This month is also Mother's Day but you don't have to be a mother, or even female to enjoy taking part in this month's challenge. We want EVERYONE to indulge themselves!

What exactly is a 50c indulgence?

This concept originally started in the Savings Forum when Helen began a thread asking for ideas which showed that truly enjoying life need not cost the earth. Before we knew it, the Forum was chocka with low cost and free ways to make each day just a little more special.

What's so indulgent about spending 50c? Don't you have to spend up big to enjoy yourself?

Not at all! Here are some of our favourite quotes from members who have discovered the joy of 50c 'splurges':

"It's easier to stay on budget when you have a little treat"
"We don't feel deprived with small indulgences. It's the reverse!"
"I have reached the point of realising that making anything special needn't cost much at all."
"It's the little things that are so meaningful and set up traditions in our life."
"It's amazing how much you become grateful for, when you observe the general discontent and haste of people around you."
"To live within our means in a way that celebrates what we have rather than what we don't have."
"It's non-retail therapy!"

Sound appealing? It is! There are countless 50c or free ways you can pamper yourself. To get you started and give you some ideas, here are 10 favourite suggestions from members in the Forum:

Put your feet up: Fill a container with hot water, add a little baking soda and soak your feet for 10 minutes. A heavenly indulgence for just a few cents.
Shop in your own wardrobe: Instead of splashing out on a new outfit, dig out all the clothing and jewellery you haven't worn in ages and have fun mixing and matching them up to make new, free outfits!
Put pen to paper: Write at least one proper letter on nice stationery every week!
Go bananas: Make banana splits with real ice cream (none of the 'lite' stuff!) and savour every mouthful.
Come out and play: When was the last time you played with your kids? Sometimes as an adult you forget how important this is to a child. It helps make good memories too!
Baking therapy: What better indulgence than the smell of fresh baking wafting through the house? Put on your favourite CD and bake up a storm!
Get moving: Exercise isn't only good for the body, it's good for the soul. Go for a walk, take a dip in the ocean (while it's still warm enough!) whatever you enjoy most. Yes you will get fitter and slimmer, but also happier!
Feed your face: Just a teaspoon of brown sugar and your favourite everyday cleanser is all it takes to give your skin a sweet treat every morning. Simply massage into your skin and rinse.
Pyjama party: What could be more decadent than spending a whole day in your pyjamas? Perfect for the colder months ahead! Get the whole family involved and enjoy a cosy day together.
A novel thought: Go to your local library, or your own bookshelf, choose yourself a novel and settle down and read it. All day!

You see how easy it is? There are thousands more suggestions where those came from but we're sure you can come up with plenty of your own. Life's little pleasures are so much more enjoyable when there is no guilt attached. Enjoy this month's challenge and don't forget to share your own favourite 50c Indulgences with other members in the Vault and Forum. If you're not currently a Vault member and would like to read ALL of our members' wonderful suggestions, you can become one right now here. A 12 month membership costs $47, which works out to just 13c per day over the course of a year. Much less even than a 50c Indulgence!

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winners

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to make it easier for our members to source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a store, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you could win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us, the better your chance of winning. This month's winner is Riverside Orchards, as nominated by Emmaleen Sarten. Read her entry to see what makes them such a great example of a Hidden Gem.

Riverside Orchards, 1346 Napier Road, Ashurst, New Zealand, www.riversideshop.co.nz

Hidden away in Ashhurst, at the side of the road is Riverside Orchards. It's a family business and it has that homely feel to it. The staff are both friendly and knowledgeable, selling top quality fresh produce (most of which is grown by the orchard). I frequently visit to buy "the cheapest milk in Ashhurst", which at $3.50 for 2L is also likely to be the cheapest milk in Palmerston North! Bread is also a competitive price at $1.70 per loaf. I picked up 10kg of Agria potatoes for $10 a few weeks ago and they were so fresh that I've been able to slowly use them without any going bad (a problem I have with buying supermarket potatoes in bulk).

Last time I visited the orchard I was looking for pumpkin to make my first homemade pumpkin soup. Not only did they help me to find the correct type of pumpkin for soup but they offered some helpful tips on how to make it a success (which I can report it was!) I left with a smile - and a free pear. Customer service is outstanding and quite often we leave with freebies - especially if the kids are with me.

For those of who don't want to travel out to Ashhurst or just don't have much spare time, the orchard also has an online service. It was a friend from Palmy who told me about this little gem - simply spend $15 or more and the delivery is free for Palmerston North and Ashhurst residents. Now I may only live round the corner from this orchard but I admit I have used this online service more than once - it's just so much fun having a package delivered to your door! Plus I found it an invaluable service after I had my second son four months ago and found it hard enough to make a cup of tea, let alone venture out shopping with the two boys!

The best thing about Riverside Orchards is once you know where to find them, anyone can get these great deals! Of course it does help to have time for a chat, and bringing the cute kids along helps to ensure a free sample of their home grown produce! Also if you live locally, look out for the special coupons that appear in the local Ashhurst paper from time to time - the orchard will offer specials to local residents to show they appreciate our support.

A big pat on the back to Riverside Orchards and congratulations to Emmaleen, you have won yourself $100! Well done also to our runners-up for sharing their Hidden Gems:

Shires Fruit & Vegetable Market nominated by Dianne Thompson

The Big Pot Nursery nominated by Lorraine Mcneair

Ivanhoe Pasta Deli nominated by Claire S

Cafe Agora nominated by Suz Boyles

You can enter your own Hidden Gems into our monthly competition here. Thank you and good luck!

4. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Pumpkin Patch for this extract from her blog 'Nostalgic Memories of My Childhood'. In this post she shares simple pleasures of days gone by:

Simple Pastimes

I was talking to my eldest daughter the other day and she remarked that she and her kids had been laying back relaxing on the old trampoline, just enjoying the peace and looking up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by...

Didn't that bring back memories - such simple pleasures. I used to love laying on the freshly mown grass, looking up and making fun shapes out of the clouds - and the other night, sitting on our back verandah, the cloud formations were amazing, so many different shapes and sizes and all resembling animals or people - it is still a fun thing to do although I haven't done it for so long.

I am guilty of taking heaps of photos of cloud formations though - they are fascinating, the way they swirl and change.

Another simple pleasure was rolling on the grass - and rolling over and over again - better still if there was a slight slope, then you could really get up some momentum. We would do this for hours, giggling all the time - we didn't need much to amuse us.

My brother and our cousin, who were best mates, would use any excuse to build a cubby house - anywhere, anytime - and I was always there, wanting to join in - they got around that by using me as their maid and I was a willing slave. Later, I too would be having great fun building cubbies under the trees - one particular one when I was a bit older was on top of Dad's shed sheltering under next doors mulberry tree. Another good one, I recall, was under the huge bullock's heart custard apple tree in the back corner, very spacious and there was room for at least ten children or more. How we loved our cubby houses, we had all sorts of things in there and would spend hours and hours in them, eating our lunch and having snacks - and no doubt our mums were happy knowing where we were and what we were up to.

Another favourite game was just playing 'chasey' - round and round the house we'd go, and we had plenty of places to hide behind the many trees and shrubs, or we'd race through the house, jump over the verandah wall then tear around the side and up through the window to do it all again - use to drive Mum crazy, all these kids flying every which way - but it was fun and kept us active. Needless to say there were no insect screens in my day.

Of course now and then we did get up to mischief - the time when my brother had just been to the pictures to see Batman or Superman and he climbed up on the roof and jumped off, his cloak flying behind him - he didn't realise he couldn't fly. And no matter how many times we were warned not to touch the birdseye chillies we couldn't help ourselves and then went screaming in agony to Mum because our lips were burning. She always managed to soothe us and away we would go again, none the worse for wear.

Kids will be kids...

Congratulations Pumpkin Patch! To read more from her, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Best of the Forum: Indulge Yourself

Can you remember the last time you pampered yourself? Sadly, many of us get so caught up in our hectic schedules that we never quite manage to take time out for ourselves. If this sounds like you, head for our Forum right now and browse these threads for super easy ways to enrich your life without breaking the bank.

February - How to say I love you with a 50 cents indulgence

You don't have to wait for Valentine's Day to come around to show loved ones you care! Check out some of these gorgeous low cost ways to say I love you all year round.
read more...

50c indulgences... Nothing is worth more than this day

Feeling rich has little to do with money. Indulge yourself every day with ideas like these!
read more...

Homemade 2011

Home made gifts are a delightful indulgence for both the maker and the recipient! Check out this thread to see what our busy members are up to.
read more...

Something I did today to save a dollar

Every little bit adds up! In this thread, Tradie's Wife encourages everyone to share the savings they have made each day. Be inspired - and surprised!
read more...

Gratitude thread - Sparkles and chocolate

Writing down everything you are grateful for each day has been proven to enrich your life - and it doesn't cost a cent. Join the SS Forum online gratitude journal here!
read more...

Simple menu for children to cook

Rosie is helping two youngsters plan and cook a delicious meal to indulge their parents - but what to cook that is simple, yet special? These suggestions will get your mouth watering!
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: Affordable Luxuries

It really is easy to indulge yourself and the people you love every day for next to nothing. The Vault is absolutely bursting with suggestions you will love. Start pampering yourself today with some of these great ideas!

Give the gift of pure indulgence and wrap it up with love!

I created some gift baskets for my Mum, Step-mum and Nanna as a present just to let them know I was thinking of them. They took just an hour of my time and cost me absolutely nothing to make but were full of love!

First I rescued some small baskets from the back of a cupboard which have been lying around unused for years. Then I searched my present drawer and cupboards and came up with the following items to put in the baskets:

Bath soaks and guest soaps with gorgeous matching floral labels. I split the packets and put a few in each basket.
Bath salts, which I divided into three tiny recycled plastic bags and tied with pretty ribbon. I added a label made from my scrap-booking supplies.
Chamomile tea bags which I put into little plastic bags in the same way as the bath salts and added to each basket.
Tea light candles.
Empty hotel-sized shampoo bottles which I filled with pink shower gel from a larger bottle. I then covered the label with a pretty homemade label sticker from my craft box.

I added a note encouraging the ladies to take some time out and relax in a candle-lit bath, covered each basket and its contents with cellophane and tied a pretty bow around the top. All three ladies were delighted with their pure-indulgence gift!

Contributed by: 'Not your typical Gen Y'

Rainbow baths for just a few cents

I am saving $155 a year on bath time fun! Every night my four year old asks for a coloured bath. I was buying a small pot of colour tablets almost every fortnight at $5.99 a jar. Instead I now have several bottles of liquid food color which costs around $2.50. Just two drops in the bath water and they can have any colour they want. A bottle of food color lasts about 12 months, so this is a much cheaper, longer lasting option!

Contributed by: Katherine James

$21 Challenge keeps the 'budget nag' at bay

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.

Contributed by: Louise Blackmore

120 bickies for $4!

Make over 120 bickies for just $4.00! This fantastic basic bickie recipe is terrific value, makes loads and has lots of room for variations:

500g margarine
1 tin condensed milk
1 cup sugar
5 cups self-raising flour

Cream the sugar and margarine. Add condensed milk and flour. Roll into teaspoon sized balls and press down with a fork. Place on greased trays and bake in moderate oven until golden brown (approximately 10-15 minutes).

Before baking I divide the mixture into five and add the following ingredients for different flavoured bickies:

Chocolate chips and glace cherries (chopped)
Cornflakes and sultanas
Hundreds and Thousands
Jam drops
Milo and coconut

You could add any number of other things like Rice Bubbles, Smarties, nuts, cinnamon and other spices and so on. The raw mixture can be frozen in balls, just thaw slightly before baking.

From this one batch we made 123 bickies and by my calculations using the cheapest possible ingredients the whole batch cost just over $4.00 to make!

Contributed by: Kristy Frahm

Add $5 notes to money tin and see savings soar

Add $5 bills to your money tin and save up to $200 a month! Most people have a money tin they throw their coins into but a few years ago I began adding $5 bills to my tin. This saves me $200 to $600 over a three month period, just in coins and $5 notes. I now purposely try not to hand over $5 notes at the shops so that I can put them in my tin instead. Try it - you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Contributed by: Darcy C

Your searching is over with these handy-bag inserts!

I've just discovered a 50 cent solution to a frustrating problem! I shudder to think about how many hours of my life I have wasted, ferreting around in my handbag trying to retrieve ringing mobile phones, combs, pens - or what ever I'm looking for but can't seem to find!

A friend had told me about handbag inserts - mini purses that fit in your handbag to put all the things you are always searching for in order and within reach. But these cost up to $60 - a price I wasn't prepared to pay. Today however, in my local op shop, whilst looking through a box of assorted purses, I found the perfect solution. An unused make up bag with two side pockets and one centre zipped pocket that fits perfectly into my hand bag. Its price? 50 cents! They always have purses and make up bags in great supply so, save yourself a whopping $59.00 on expensive handbag inserts AND hours of frustration and get down to your local Op Shop!

Contributed by: Diane Smith

Money tin pays for renovations

Our 50 cent money tin has paid for the landscaping of our new house in less than twelve months. I used to pay for everything electronically but my partner liked to use cash. This worked well until we bought our first home together and to maintain the peace, I reluctantly agreed to keep a money tin for our grocery purchases. We both contribute $200 every fortnight and from this we purchase all fortnightly groceries and any top up groceries such as milk, bread, fruit and vegies.

Because there are only the two of us there is always money left over and this has been the biggest bonus! We had a 12 month plan for a massive landscaping makeover which of course always reveals additional costs that you don't factor into the budget. The tin has been our saviour and we have been able to pay for the following using the extra cash:

Lots of concrete for retaining wall foundations.
Bobcat and backhoe hire for excavations.
Concrete for garden shed slab.
The garden shed (second hand) - we dismantled, transported and built it ourselves.
Pavers for the pergola from a garage sale.
Numerous garage sale and market purchases for the garden (pots, plants and so on).
Pest inspection.
TV aerial makeover by tradesman.
Installation of ceiling fans (bought from an auction) by electrician.
Timber garden edging.
Pump and fittings for the rainwater tank.
Numerous trips to Bunnings for the little extras you always need when landscaping.
Mulch, soil, topsoil, mushroom compost and sugar cane mulch for the garden beds.
Paint for different projects.

There was also enough in the tin to buy all the Christmas purchases (seafood, drinks, nibblies and so on) for a great Christmas Day with the family and we have also used the money for holidays and not contributed cash for a pay or two. We made a rule that we wouldn't take out any loans and now when the money tin builds up to a certain amount we know we have enough for the next project. I love the tin and we are now saving for the internal house renovations.

Contributed by: Cathy Baxter

7. Cooking with Mimi

Mother's Day is fast approaching and this year I'M taking control. I want a nice pot of tea and my favourite french toast ice cream for breakfast. Yes, you read right - french toast ice cream. And I'd like serviettes please. And a flower in a vase like they have in the movies.

For me however, that's only going to happen with careful planning... and nagging... lots of nagging. Oh, and written instructions.

So without further ado, here they are!

Vanilla ice cream with chunks of french toast

Equipment required:

Small saucepan
Whisk
Non-stick frypan
Small bowl
Sealed container, eg. Tupperware or recycled jar
Baking tray lined with baking paper
Spatula
Ingredients:
2 litre tub vanilla ice cream. Generic is fine.
2 thick slices bread
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dessertspoon caster sugar
2-3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar made by combining 1 cup caster sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in the sealed container. Keep your unused cinnamon sugar for making cinnamon toast another day.
Butter for frying
Maple syrup or that stuff they call pancake syrup that tastes like it

Preheat your oven to 150C. You want your oven set to a low heat so that your french toast doesn't burn while it's becoming crisp and crunchy.

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Set up your bowl for your sweetened milk and egg mixture

Gently heat your milk in a small saucepan. Add your sugar and vanilla, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Once it has all dissolved and the milk mixture is silky sweet, set it aside. Once cooled, add your egg and beat well until well combined.

Turn on your hotplate to medium-high. Melt about a teaspoon of butter in a fry pan. Once sizzling, quickly dip each slice of your bread into your egg and milk mixture, and pan fry on one side for about a minute, or until golden underneath. Flip your bread over with a spatula, and let it cook on the other side until 'done'. Set aside on the baking tray and repeat with the other slice of bread.

Once both slices are cooked, sprinkle them liberally with cinnamon sugar. Then pop them into the oven to crisp. Bake until it is deep golden in colour and hard and crunchy. Remove from your oven and allow to cool. When cool enough for you to handle, cut your toast into small cubes, or break it up into chunks.

Remove your ice cream from the freezer and allow it to soften at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Then tip your soft ice cream into a large mixing bowl. Add your crispy french toast cubes, pieces and crumbs to the mushy icecream, and combine well.

Add ¼ cup of maple or pancake syrup to your icecream. Mix well for a real maple flavour or simply swirl through with a spoon if you prefer a ripple type flavour. Return your newly flavoured icecream to it's container, put the lid back on and pop back in the freezer.

Leave for a couple of hours to return to a firm consistency and serve in dainty bowl... or a humungous one depending upon your appetite. Consume leisurely, propped up on silken pillows, with loving partner massaging ones' feet.

Well, I can dream can't I?

A real pot of tea

So you've done the domestic goddess thing, said hi to everyone on the Simple Savings Forum and actually managed to wrench yourself away, and are just about to put your feet up and have a nice cuppa tea.

Now here's the bad news. We're not going to dunk a teabag in some microwaved hot water for our cuppa. Granny was right. For tea to be truly appreciated, it should be brewed in a pot, and served in a cup, not a mug. And you want to make your pot of tea no more than ten minutes before you want to drink it.

These instructions are for normal old black tea. Variations for green tea or herbal teas are at the end. So read all the way through, choose your tea, and off you go!

Equipment required:

Teapot
Measuring jug
Tea strainer
Teacup of your choice
Kettle
Teaspoon
Tray for serving
Super clean teatowel to line the tray
Ingredients:
Loose tea leaves of your choice, NOT a teabag
Sugar and milk if you like it
Fresh tap water

How to do it:

Start making your pot of tea no more than ten minutes before you want to drink it.

First up, wash your teapot thoroughly, and wipe it dry on the outside. If there are oil residues in your teapot they will stop the tea from seeping properly. Now run your hot water until it's very hot and fill your teapot to warm it. Set it aside while your kettle boils.

A good cuppa should always be made with freshly boiled water. So empty your kettle, make sure it's clean on the inside, then fill it with enough fresh cold tap water to make your tea.

When the kettle is almost finished, empty the teapot (you did fill it with hot water to warm it, didn't you?) then put in one teaspoon of tea leaves for each cup of liquid the pot will hold, plus a half a teaspoon.

As soon as your kettle comes to the boil, pour your gurgling water onto your leaves in the teapot. Give it a gentle stir with a teaspoon.

Enjoy the wafting fragrance of your tea for a moment then put the lid on the pot. Let it brew for 4-5 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea. If you like to drink black ink (very strong) leave it for seven minutes.

Pour your tea when it is ready and add sugar and milk to taste. Sip and enjoy!

Different types of tea

The only difference when making green or herbal tea is that you should wait for three minutes after your kettle has boiled before pouring. This allows the water to cool enough to prevent scorching the more delicate leaves and flower buds found in green and herbal teas, which can make them bitter. Then proceed as for the black tea.

8. Penny's Blog: Dance Like Nobody's Watching

April 28th

It appears that Noel's doom and gloom is catching. I have declared every month a No Spend Month indefinitely. I knew that this month was going to be a bad one for bills when we received a lovely invoice of $900 to pay to our new district council for rates. Not that paying rates is anything new - it's just that they cost three times as much as the old place so that came as a bit of a shock! Still, I wasn't too worried. We've been making such a concerted effort to save on our food bill lately that I was confident we would have enough to cover it.

Until last week when I received a tax bill for $2,000 due May 7th. That in itself was a nasty surprise - but I only just forked out $1,200 for tax LAST month! Talk about adding insult to injury. Apparently one is provisional tax, the other is terminal. Ha - I can see why they call it terminal, it just about kills you to pay it!

Honestly, sometimes it makes you wonder how on earth anyone is supposed to survive. Two steps forward, ten back. Woe is me. And then something really cool happens, such as the Easter holidays. Whilst we didn't win the lottery (I'd have to buy a ticket and am far too stingy to do that!) we did have a ripper of a time filled with heaps of fabulous company and managed to escape with the bank balance almost completely unscathed. Not a bad achievement considering we haven't fed less than seven people for dinner in longer than we can remember and had no less than 14 people hanging out with us over the long weekend. We had friends, grandparents, godparents, the kids' mates, Alex came down from his uni home in the city to stay and we even had a surprise visit from an old farming friend I hadn't seen in more than 15 years. We didn't have much to offer but what we did have we shared and everyone loved it.

It's times like these that remind you of just what is important. Even when money is at its tightest you don't have to miss out. Friendship is priceless. Good food can be priceless too - we got just as much pleasure out of throwing together a massive pot of soup for the hordes at the weekend than running off to the supermarket for supplies or paying a fortune for a meal out. Being at the centre of such a happy, noisy, fun home has really made me think about some of the things I love to do best. No doubt you'll laugh at some of them and think I'm completely bonkers but we all have our little quirks so hey, indulge me!

Singing in the car. At the top of my voice, music cranked up as loud as it will go. Very important. This has been one of my favourite indulgences since I became a mother and spent years first tiptoeing around a Metallica-free house so as not to wake the babies, then several more years surrendering my car stereo to the likes of Hi-5, Teletubbies and whatever other story CD's the kids wanted to listen to. Even now we all like the same music, there is still nothing I like better than driving solo with the music turned up LOUD. Cost = nothing (except the petrol I'm already using to get me wherever I'm going). Happiness factor = 9/10.
Walking the dogs on the beach. This is obviously something which we have only just begun in the last six months but Noel and I try and do it every day. It's good for the body (we walk around 5km), good for the soul, good for our relationship as we can thrash out any issues on neutral ground (and a beautiful, tranquil ground at that) and most of all good for the sense of humour as you have never seen anything as funny as Hubble and Minnie racing around on the beach like the two happiest dogs on the planet. Cost = nothing. Happiness factor = 9/10.
Lounge room disco. Now this is one of my favourite indulgences! These are a fairly regular occurrence in our house and usually happen when there is nothing on TV and Noel and I are reduced to watching the music channel. All of a sudden a good song will come on and all of a sudden yours truly feels a dance coming on. We jump up, our tiny lounge becomes a dance floor and the two of us bop away merrily for a good couple of hours until we're exhausted or the wine runs out. By some stroke of good fortune our kids have never ventured downstairs and caught us or they would probably die of embarrassment but what the heck, we think it's pretty cool! Cost = nothing (wine optional but no more than $8.99). Happiness factor = 10/10. Hangover factor = extremely likely.
Running. What is it with me and music? Running is my ultimate indulgence. It's my 'me time', my thinking time, my problem solving time and my de-stress time but most of all it's my 'zone out and listen to music on my iPod really loud' time. Whilst getting fit at the same time which is a bonus. The faster the song, the faster I run! Cost = nothing. Happiness factor = 9/10.

So there you have it, my favourite low cost, feel-good indulgences. We're all different - some of us love nothing better than a really good coffee or a few squares of dark, 70% chocolate. Or a big, deep bubble bath. Or snuggling up watching a movie on TV with home made popcorn. One thing's for sure though; they may not cost a lot but when those horrible tax bills come along they are worth their weight in gold!

April 2011

9. Homeopathy Corner: A Gift to Mothers

Few people know that I divide my life as a mum into two distinct periods. First there was the hard period - the first three and a half years when the kids constantly got sick and we spent night after night walking with sick children. We used Paracetamol, a lot. Dymadon was a regular item on our shopping list. The kids caught everything and then Matt and I caught it too. We thought this was normal. After all that is what life is like when you have small children, or so people told us.

During the hard period I used to get very frustrated with my children. It felt like I was hitting my head up against the wall and asked 'Why is my child doing this?' Some of the questions that plagued me were:- Why won't my child go to sleep? Why do they seem to get an earache whenever we go out on a windy day? Why doesn't my child speak at childcare? Why does he hide in the corner of the room at childcare pretending to read a book when he can't read? Why is he so quiet at childcare and so noisy at home? Why does my child insist on dominating me, but not his father? Why does this child crave salt? Why does my child have big bags under his eyes? Why is he still wetting the bed? Why is my child so fat? Why isn't she sitting up? Why isn't she crawling? Why does she look so dopey, as if no one is home? Why? Why? Why?

I had a lot of questions. So many things did not make sense. Then I did Fran's free workshop and being a mum became a lot easier. Fran fixed my children and the homeopathy text books held the answers to so many of my questions. I now believe that homeopathy is the best gift to mothers ever. So this month, I asked Fran to show how homeopathy can make mum's life easier by making bub healthier.

To read Fran's article go to: homeopathyplus.com.au/frequent-waking-and-fear-of-strangers-baby-taylors-story

Of course my kids still do get sick from time to time. But now their illnesses are generally minor and short lived, fevers are rare, and the bottle of Dymadon in the cupboard is three years out of date.

10. From Last Month: Which Laptop?

Last month Crystal asked:

"I want to buy a laptop computer but there are so many around I'm finding it all a bit confusing. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can find the best value laptop? I would really appreciate any help! Many thanks."

Wow, we had a huge response to this request! Thank you to everyone who wrote in to share their knowledge and experience. Whilst unfortunately there are just too many to print every one, we hope you will find this selection helpful.

Check out computer warehouse stores for a good deal

Having recently bought a laptop I can see how there is the potential for a lot of confusion because everybody has different opinions on what is the best brand to buy. Various stores have laptops available at good prices but the amount of memory can really vary. Decide what you actually need the laptop to do and how much memory and/or extra features you require. A good idea is to check out computer warehouse stores. They may be able to make a computer to your exact specifications and could be cheaper than a regular retail store. I bought a DELL because I had heard positive feedback and it had a top rating in Choice magazine. I found the DELL staff very helpful and happy to answer questions. They also have twelve months of ongoing support to help you deal with any issues, which is handy if you aren't very computer literate (like myself!). It might pay to have a look at any special offers your work social club or union may have in order to take advantage of these savings as I received a discount on the model I chose through my workplace union membership.

Contributed by: Louise Deland

Avoid info overload - visit Whirlpool Forums

When looking to buy a new laptop, first make a list of all the things you will want to use your laptop for on a regular basis. Will you be carrying it around a lot or using it mainly at home? Do you only want to check emails and use the internet or do you want to watch movies or edit photos and videos? Take your list with you when you go to the shop. For great advice on laptops I always go to Whirlpool Forums: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/130

Contributed by: Shannaka Beveridge

Ask the right questions and make the right purchase

When buying a laptop, a useful site to look at is what2ask.com.au. The site doesn't tell you which product to buy - instead it provides lists of suggested questions to ask before buying various domestic products to help you make the best decision about your purchase. It's also really easy to navigate. Knowledge is power, and if you can start by asking the right questions, you're in a better bargaining position and less likely to buy something that doesn't suit your needs. Check out the page about laptops at http://what2ask.com.au/general/laptop.html. There are also other pages on 'mini notebooks' and 'desktop computers' which could be helpful too.

Contributed by: Judy Cameron

Computer wholesalers will provide the best deal

My first piece of advice when buying a computer is NOT to buy from a regular retailer. Even when they have a really good sale going on, you can generally get a better deal at a computer wholesaler. Personally, I've found Asus, HP and Acer are fairly good brands. I would simply call the wholesaler and ask what is suggested for a basic laptop for whatever functions you require. I use www.msy.com.au which has stores in every state. Since you are unsure about what it is that you are after, I imagine that you only want your laptop for simple things such as Microsoft Word and the internet, not for complicated programs. Providing you only use your laptop for basic functions, I doubt that you will need more then 2GB of RAM (the laptop's short term memory) and more than a 500GB HDD (the long term memory - what you can save to your computer). If anyone tells you that you need more, they are attempting to upsell you and you simply won't use it to its full extent. (In saying this if you can get more memory without a huge price increase then do so). Also remember the larger the screen, the higher the price. Finally - make sure you get a warranty on your laptop.

Contributed by: Kirrilee Gerber

The 'best' price doesn't always get the best results

I've had several computers over the years, and have found that often the cheapest isn't the most economical! I have discovered that Mac computers, while not the cheapest on the market, last such a long time, and the Apple help team is terrific if you have any problems or issues with your computer. Some big stores are now selling Apple computers at a good price, and it always pays to ask if they'll give you a discount (especially if you are a student or have a child who is a student). Finally- don't go for the biggest screen or lots or impressive sounding characteristics - chances are you'll never use them!

Contributed by: Kay de Vogel

Ex-business computers could be 'just the business' for you!

The key to saving money on computers and laptops is to remember that new models are coming out every few months. That means two things for us money-saving folk; Firstly, take all advice with a pinch of salt when listening to people's opinions about the 'best' and 'cheapest' models to buy, because they are changing all the time. Secondly, when looking to find a great deals on a near-new laptop or computer, take advantage of the fast turnover. It's a bit like buying a secondhand car that has just been driven off the lot. Businesses are advised to keep computers for just three years, and their computers are often faster and fancier than what we need for home. Ex-business computers are being sold on sites like TradeMe or eBay for a fraction of the price in a store.

Contributed by: Paula Salisbury

Seek computer help from a nerdy friend!

When I needed a new computer, I entrusted my hard-earned money to my nerdy friend (and most of them don't mind being called that either!) Just tell them what you want it to do and what you will use it for, e.g. word processing, Internet, music and so on and they will hunt around online for you. Just make sure you give them a budget, otherwise they'll go all out with excitement getting you a fancy thing that is so much more than what you need!

Contributed by: Sonja Wilson

Bonus Extras for Vault members

The essential guide to buying the perfect laptop! Contributed by: Renee D

Laptop purchasing - points to consider Contributed by: Sue E

Get the right connections with Work Ventures Connect It Contributed by: Mel

Only buy what you need when choosing a laptop Contributed by: Jess B

11. This Month's Help Request: Sweet Treats for Diabetics

This month Carol asks:

"I am in my 40's and have recently been diagnosed with diabetes. I have two young girls who love cookies and cakes and I am desperate for recipes with sugar substitutes and almond flour and coconut as it means I can also eat the cookies and cakes that I bake for them. Please can you help with low carb recipes of any kind, but especially baked goodies?"

If you have any tips which can help Carol, please send them in to us here.

12. Savings Story: Diamond In The Rough

In desperate search of a partner for my scrapbooking supplies, I turned to the best dating website I know for this kind of thing... www.simplesavings.com.au. With hope in my heart and a conviction to stop at nothing short of perfection, I typed the address into my browser.

I clicked on the 'Savings Forum' and saw 'Scrapbooking storage solutions, help please'. Drawn in by this scrapper's desire for a perfect match I read on. Other scrappers were sharing their stories and before I knew it I was following links and viewing profiles. Desperately I searched for that one true love.

Cupid shot his first arrow as I came across one particular profile that stood out. It appeared to have all the qualities I was looking for. Sturdy, with its own transport - easier to get where we needed to go. Good looking - great bragging feature when introducing friends. Yet modest enough that I could be persuaded to drag myself away to go to work and take care of my kids. I wanted a committed worker, well-built, open and friendly offering easy access to their treasures within. I didn't want to get into a situation where we had to put on hold what we'd started just to search for the right toys... if you know what I mean? And my perfect match had to be multi-skilled, able to manage all of my needs...

Oh... that scrapbook storage cabinet was divine! It ticked all the right boxes. Plenty of shelves, drawers, and a pullout work space. On castors for easy movement to wherever I wanted to work. Attractive, but not overly done so it would suit any decor. Space for tiny embellishments, card stock and bulky tools. A perfect match. It was love at first sight! Cupid's arrow had hit its mark.

Suddenly my heart sank. This was one high achiever! I was seriously punching above my weight. He was out of my league! I'd need better cashflow to afford the transport just to meet him. Then there'd be the need to keep up with the whole package! Envy quickly set in... Why not me? Why are they always out of my reach? Why do others always get what they want? Oh how my heart ached...

Down, but not out. Spurred on by all that I had seen and with a strong conviction to find my one true love, I turned off the computer and cast a keen eye over my immediate surroundings. Searching for a glimmer of hope, a less demanding model, a hint of potential, an achiever closer to my world. I wasn't going to give up on my dream...

And then I saw him....

He caught me off guard, standing there, unassuming and alone. Waiting to catch my eye. He had potential. Sure he was old, but there were no wrinkles in the old dog yet. His structure was sturdy with everything intact. He had enough experience and was fully accommodating to satisfy my every need. I was willing to give this old flat-pack computer tower on castors a go. A second date, if you will...

Immediately, I grabbed a nearby storage basket and placed it on the bottom shelf to create a large drawer for bulky items. Just like the image I'd seen online! Heading up, shelf by shelf, I noted another shelf the same size, perfect for more bulky items. Could this old romance be rekindled? Cupid shot his 2nd arrow.

Next the pullout keyboard drawer - a sturdy work surface with easy access to all the shelves and drawers! I grabbed 2 small, but matching storage baskets and placed them on the next shelf above the pullout. These will make great drawers whilst giving him a fresh new look. A makeover. My eyes began to twinkle with affection. Cupid's 2nd arrow hit quick!

I wanted to see if distance made the heart grow fonder, so I drove to the hardware store and purchased a pack of 12 shelving supports $1.42. There were enough supports to secure 3 shelves in place-no need to get carried away and use all those pre-drilled holes. I wanted to leave this old dear some room for surprises once the honeymoon is over.

Still at the hardware, I found a sheet of Melamine for $4.96. Perfect size to make three shelves. My dream was within my grasp! Cupid 3rd arrow is drawn from his quiver... He takes aim...

Meanwhile, I was keen to reunite with my new love, but I wanted to ensure that my contribution to this relationship was equal. So, I located some small plastic craft drawers and a couple of plastic take away containers I had in another cupboard. These would hold the little things in life and fit perfectly between baskets or on a shelf. I couldn't wait to return. My heart had definitely grown fonder...

As our eyes met, I was shocked to see something that I hadn't noticed before. His crowning glory... like Fabio's flowing hair... a top shelf... bragging space for finished photo albums. The attraction was electric. I had fallen in love. Cupid's 3rd arrow sunk deep into my heart...

But like all good romance stories, fear raised its ugly head. I hesitated. Had I jumped in too soon? I could hear "Love is blind" ringing in my ears. I worried that I'd soon tire of this not so young yet comfortable old flame.

I didn't hesitate for long. He may not be as stunning as that international model, online. But, like most images of those out-of-our-league, rich, internationals; their photos are probably air-brushed! Besides, my rekindled romance holds fond memories of the past, shared together.

This one's definitely a keeper!

I'm ready to commit. But I'd best check his financial status before giving him an answer.

Cost $6.38. Great! No credit card debt looming ahead. No awful arguments about what could have been. $1,495.00 and that's just the model I saw. I forgot to mention, he's an American. So I'd have to add transport costs. Shipping just to get him to the edge of the U.S.A is $175.00 then there's the unknown expense of flying him to Australia and the costs of getting him from the airport to my door. Potentially huundreds, if not thousands of arguments to be thrown in my face somewhere down the track.

Yes. I'm ready to say commit. I'm happy with my diamond in the rough. Confident we'll live happily ever after.

Contributed by: Anne Shaw

April 2013 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - April 2013

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Share the Joy!
April: 50c Indulgences
Winners of the 'Get the Good Oil' Competition
Penny Wise is BACK! It's Been a While...
Best of the Vault: Just Breathe
Best of the Forum: What is Your Indulgence?
Best Members' Blog: Focus on Where I HAVE Got Money
Hidden Gems: Lentil as Anything
Cooking with Mimi: Apple Tray Bake
Claire's Corner: A $0.54c Cure for My $4.50 Habit
50c Indulgences: Inspirations from 'Gone with the Wind'
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Saving Some Seeds and a Treat for Dinner!
David Wright: Saving CAN be Fun!
From Last Month: Lose Weight, Not Dollars
This Month's Help Request: Don't Let Clutter Get the Best of You
Goodbye For Now

Hello,

How are you going? April has been a huge month here at Simple Savings! We were very excited to launch our Beauty Queen on a Budget app called 'Simple Beauty Tips'. You can find it: here in Google Play for android phones
and in the iTunes app store here.

We're also putting the finishing touches on the Simple Savings mobile site to make viewing easier when you're out and about. You can have a look at the trial version at mobile.simplesavings.com.au

We love receiving your emails and Facebook messages. Here are a some of this month's favourites:

"Oh how I LOVE Simple Savings. I even just love reading all the hints and my sponges and macadamia oil arrived yesterday. Thanks for a great site." (Liz)

"I just renewed my membership for another year with a little help from your free 30 day trial for the Simply Budgets software. I can't live without it now!" (Susan)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. Special on Simple Savings Vault memberships - join the Vault for the first time for $27 (a saving of $20). The special lasts until Mother's Day (9pm, May 12, 2013).

P.P.S. Penny is back - Yay!

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Share the Joy!

"What are you up to this weekend, Sal? Got any plans?" asked Hanna as the two of them prepared to finish work for the week. "Nope, nothing at this stage - and I hope it stays that way, I'm exhausted!" Sally replied. "Good!" Hanna grinned cheekily. "How do you fancy a weekend of pure indulgence to get rid of those shopping bags under your eyes?" "Did you say shopping?" Sally's face lit up. "I like that sound of that! I haven't been to the malls in ages!"

"Ohh sorry, Sal, I don't think my budget will stretch to shopping, I'm still on my debt diet!" laughed Hanna. "But I CAN offer you a wonderful spa weekend. I'm thinking manicure, pedicure, facial, the works! My shout. We could probably squeeze in a movie too - and share a bottle of bubbly!" "It sounds wonderful Hanna, I'd love to - but I can't possibly let you pay. That lot would cost a fortune!" Sally said, disappointed.

"Not at all! I'm talking about a DIY spa at my place!" Hanna replied with a smile. "Everything we need is already at home - we can sun ourselves on the veranda while we wait for our face masks to work their magic," she giggled. "I've borrowed a DVD from my sister and the bubbly is a bottle left over from Christmas. It'll hardly cost a thing. What do you say?" "In that case, I say absolutely!" Sally beamed. "Thank you, it sounds wonderful. In fact, it sounds even more fun than shopping!"

Note: If you're planning on indulging in some macadamia oil, we suggest you order this week as we are expecting to run out soon.

</store/>

2. April: 50c Indulgences

Hanna knew that the one thing better than spoiling herself was to spoil Sally as well! It is important to make time for ourselves - but it can be even more enjoyable to share a treat or special occasion with someone else. Having a little company to chat with, laugh with, relax with is all wonderful food for the soul. For BOTH souls!

The '50 Cent Indulgence' threads in the Simple Savings Forum have always been about sharing and gracious living. Helen and Annabel and the 50 Cent Army have taught us that there is so much to be gained from delighting in the small things in life, and that many life enhancing moments can be enjoyed for just a few dollars - or even no cost at all! So in the spirit of our 50 Cent Indulgence Month, we would like you to do two things. The first is to choose an indulgence - something that will only cost a few dollars but bring great enjoyment! Next, choose someone to share it with - perhaps a partner, family member, friend, neighbour or someone you may have just met. Your mission this month is to make someone's day - as well as your own!

To get you started and give you some ideas, here are some suggestions about sharing a 50c Indulgence with someone special:

High tea. Enjoy a right royal morning tea fit for the Queen, complete with home-made patty cakes, tiny cucumber sandwiches and pretty teacups. Spend a couple of dollars on... sugar cubes!

Movie night. Have a 'Gold Class' themed movie night using movies from your own collection, the library or the DVD shop. Spend a few dollars on... a bottle of bubbly!

Start your day with a smile. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day so share a lazy one with someone special, complete with lovely linen, beautiful music and Granny's tea set. Spend a few dollars on... fresh croissants!

Candlelight picnic. Watch the sun go down and enjoy an easy picnic of chicken, salad and fruit. Spend a few dollars on... candles!

There are so many things you can do for just a few dollars so have fun using your imagination! How are you going to add the 'extra' to 'ordinary' and make someone's day? We'd love to hear how you go!

3. Winners of the 'Get the Good Oil' Competition

Thank you for all your wonderful beauty product recipes using macadamia oil - it was so hard to choose a winner! Congratulations to Sapna Sharma who won first prize and to our four runners-up:

First prize ($100 or $100 credit in Ye Olde Shoppe)

Home-made face cleanser

To make a beautiful facial cleanser, puree a peeled kiwi fruit in a food processor, then mix in two tablespoons of natural yoghurt, one tablespoon of macadamia oil, one tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of ground almonds. Massage onto face and neck then rinse off with warm water.

Contributed by: Sapna Sharma

Runners-up prizes ($50 or $50 credit in Ye Olde Shoppe)

Rosewater and macadamia oil moisturiser

That list of ingredients on the back of my store-bought moisturiser was a mile long! When I looked up the names of all of those ingredients I found that I was buying oil, water and a whole lot of things to keep the oil and water from separating and spoiling. Now I just have one bottle of macadamia oil and one spray bottle of rosewater. I mix them together in my hand, then apply. I can change the ratio of oil to water whenever the season or my needs change and I am not paying for all those extra unwanted chemicals.

Contributed by: Cathy G.

Gentle exfoliator for all ages

Mix a small amount of macadamia oil and a small dab of bicarb soda together and gently massage into your face and neck for no longer than a minute. The bicarb acts as an exfoliant and the oil absorbs the nasties removed from pores. Gently remove with a face towel and warm water, working from brow to chin, then from decolletage up neck to chin. Finish off with a warm to hot (not too hot!) face towel to open pores and then whisk away any left impurities with some witch-hazel lotion. Leaves skin feeling fresh and clean. Repeat once a week for dry/mature skin and two to three times for oily/teenage/hormonal skin. On my **cough cough** nearly 50-year-old skin, I've noticed the impact on pore size and fine wrinkles and my skin feels more elastic. My 17-year-old daughter's face has shown a dramatic improvement of the scarring from acne since Christmas 2012.

Contributed by: Jo'Anne Spouse

Wickedly rich hand cream

For a wonderfully rich hand cream, mix:

1 cup macadamia oil
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
A few drops of your favourite essential oils
A few drops of apple cider vinegar

Combine well and enjoy!

Contributed by: Rebecca D.

Sea salt exfoliant

Mix sea salt (or castor sugar) with macadamia oil. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil and you have a luxury exfoliant treatment. Wet skin, rub it in and then wash it off. Your skin will love you for it and feels so soft!

Contributed by: Marg Cross

4. Penny Wise is BACK! It's Been a While...

Well this is a turn-up for the books isn't it! I know, I know, I thought it was the end of Penny Wise too! But you know what? I missed her. And I missed you. Not that I've been idling about and resting on my laurels mind you! No sirree, it's been a busy old time but jings it feels good to be back. I guess I should let you know that things are a bit different in Penny's world than where we last left off however...

For starters, as you can see, I'm now the shortest in the family. But as you can also see, there are now only three of us - just me and the boys. Saying goodbye to Noel after more than 20 years was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I married a good man; a very good man and an excellent father. We went through some horrendously tough times and came out stronger the other side. And, we were finally living our dream at the beach - this was supposed to be the easy part! But when I met Noel we were teenagers - just a year older than Liam is now. We were still kids. Now we are 40. As you would expect, we've both done a lot of growing and changing during that time! But instead of growing closer together, we grew apart. We wanted different things; we weren't the same people any more. In the end, trying to stay together became more heart breaking than being apart.

So it's onwards and upwards. At the moment, the boys and I are still living at the beach. They have jobs, are busy with sports and are happy at school. They have grown into wonderful young men and we make a good team. We're living in the same house and for now we still have a vegetable garden and a freezer full of food. We've got it pretty easy - but it's not going to last. Our house is on the market and once it sells, who knows what the future holds. We'll be going from the freedom and security of owning our own home to trying to find a rental property and managing life and everything it throws at us on a single income. It's going to be one heck of a journey but I feel well-armed. Why? Because I have eight years' of Simple Savings knowledge up my sleeve and thank goodness I do because by crikey I'm going to need it!

5. Best of the Vault: Just Breathe!

That's right - next time you feel a bit stressed or busy or overwhelmed, simply stop and take a few long breaths. This simple action allows our bodies to release some of our physical tension and gives our minds a quick break. And guess what - it's free! Here are some other wonderful inexpensive ways to help you 'stop and catch your breath'...

Guilt-free day of pampering at home

I saved a fortune on a day's well-earned pampering! I had a rare day to myself and was wondering how I could best spend it. My initial plan was to go to a movie, buy a coffee and some chocolates and then get myself some lunch, maybe a neck and shoulder massage - money, money and more money!

So instead I pulled some home-made chicken and vegetable soup out of my freezer and put on a DVD which I had been given for Christmas and hadn't ever made time to watch. I got out the foot spa, essential oils and foot cream, put on a face mask and made myself an extra big coffee in the recently bought coffee maker (bought for half price). The total cost for my treats? $2.77! This was for a whole marked down wedge of Brie, with two days before it was due to expire! I had a wonderful day of peace and quiet and pampering and I didn't have to leave the house!

Contributed by: Annette White

Free online therapy

A recent Four Corners program about depression mentioned Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a learnable technique to tackle negative thought patterns. The Australian National University has an online program where you can learn CBT for free, called Moodgym (moodgym.anu.edu.au).

With Moodgym, you undertake five online modules, each of which probably takes about 30 minutes to complete. The program was originally developed to help young people at risk of depression, and has been so successful the ANU has now opened it to the general public. The program is easy and enjoyable to use, and has a secure login so you can do the modules at your own pace anonymously.

You can learn CBT with a psychologist where you could pay around $120 an hour. Say you visit three times, that is a saving of at least $360. All Moodgym will cost you is your Internet charges and your time. CBT is not a cure for depression or anxiety, but can help managing these difficult feelings.

Links:

Moodgym: moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

Four Corners: www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2004/s1198510.htm

BeyondBlue: www.beyondblue.org.au

Contributed by: Samantha Franks

Enjoy the sunset

Contributed by: Lexie Walker

Enjoy a friend's company without spending

Contributed by: Toni

Here are a few more ideas for our valued Vault members:

Pampering without wasting Contributed by: Michelle Corkery

Holiday week without the expense Contributed by: Cathy Carige

Health retreat at home Contributed by: Ruth M now T

6. Best of the Forum: What is Your Indulgence?

One of the reasons we love reading the 50c Indulgence threads is because they remind us to stop and enjoy ourselves. We have a huge variety of interests (and interesting people!) in the Forum. This means that we get to share all the different sorts of ways that people enjoy themselves - pastimes, hobbies or just simply reminders to have some 'time out'.

Maybe there is a new 50c indulgence just waiting for you to discover it!

Creative writers #11

Definitely the 'write stuff' going on in this thread! This wonderful group of members support and nurture writers of all descriptions.
read more...

Time for me: 15 minutes a day

We spend so many hours a day looking after other people, so why not take out just 15 minutes to spoil yourself.
read more...

Restarting life!

What would be different if you 'restarted'? And, what are you waiting for!
read more...

Nurture yourself - you deserve it

Everyone needs a quiet place of their own - where is yours?
read more...

You are more beautiful than you think

We are all unique and beautiful in our own way. Sometimes we just need a reminder.
read more...

7. Best Members' Blog: Focus on Where I HAVE Got Money

This month's winner is Jude C. for her first blog AND first time doing a $21 Challenge! Good on you, Jude - keep up the great work!

This is the first time I've posted on here. After joining up in December and reading lots over the holidays, I've finally decided to give the $21 Challenge a go. I wanted to go away with my husband and children for the Anzac weekend but we don't have any spare money, and as a working and studying mum of two small kids I just don't have time for many of the ideas on here. I was glum about it for two seconds and then I gave myself a jolly good talking to, and told myself to think 'strength based'. Instead of focusing on not having money, I decided to focus on where we DID have money... thus the $21 Challenge has begun!

I realised I could save $200 by doing the $21 Challenge for a week. It took me all of two minutes to write a menu plan as I already have a stocked up freezer and pantry. I spent $40 at the store. We're midway through the week and I'm laughing, as the slow cooked meal I made on Monday was made into a pie on Tuesday and there is enough for another meal of wraps yet. Normally all the leftovers would have gone in the bin via a week in the fridge. I even picked the rhubarb from the garden, which usually just sits there until it wilts, and cooked it up to have with the Easiyo yoghurt in the morning (this is the Easiyo maker I found on the side of the road a few months back - yay to recycling people!) My daughter thinks she is having a real treat. So thanks for all the inspiration and ideas!

Thank you Jude C. for sharing your $21 Challenge journey and congratulations on taking the plunge! To read any of our members' blogs, click here

8. Hidden Gems: Lentil as Anything

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members source the best deals in their area. This month's Hidden Gem is Lentil a****s Anything as nominated by Singespitter.

When I first moved to Melbourne, a friend told me about 'Lentil as Anything'. It is a not-for-profit community organisation where you pay what you think the meal is worth. I went for a meal at the St Kilda 'Lentil as Anything' to check it out! The restaurant is run by volunteers and it is a bit of an alternative/hippy restaurant with a Moroccan theme. I really liked it as it was something different and the volunteers were lovely and have been very attentive every time I have visited. I can take a seat anywhere I like and they will often bring me out a menu and a glass of water. The food is really good and suitable for both vegetarians and vegans, and they also serve food that is gluten free.

There are no set prices. They have a box on the counter and you put your donations into that. There is more information on their website.

Where: 41 Blessington Street, St Kilda, Vic 3182
1-3 St Heliers St, Abbotsford, Vic 3067
233 Barkly Street, Footscray, Vic 3011

Website: lentilasanything.com

Well done Singespitter on locating such a fantastic hidden gem and thanks so much for sharing.

9. Cooking with Mimi: Apple Tray Bake

We just love a good apple pie. However, our recent wrestle with gluten sensitivity, rules the bought version out these days.

Here's my solution - a big tray of steaming and fragrant fruity gorgeousness, all soft and pillowy and delectable.

And the bonus is that your house will smell better than any commercial air freshener, ever!

Apple Tray Bake

Serves 8-12

Ingredients:

1 cup yoghurt, any flavour
1 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour (I used gluten-free of course!)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 apples, cored and sliced thinly (a mandolin slicer is ideal for this)
Icing sugar or cinnamon sugar to serve

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160C.

Lightly grease and flour a large baking tray or large lasagne dish.

Now is the time to melt the butter in a microwave-safe jug and allow it to cool slightly. Once the butter has cooled a little, mix it with the yoghurt.

Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar. Beat this with electric beaters until creamy and pale. This usually takes about 60 seconds.

Add the yoghurt and butter mixture, and reduce your beater speed to low, mixing well until combined.

Use a metal spoon to fold in the flour, vanilla and apple slices.

Pour it all into your prepared dish, smoothing it out and making sure that the apple slices are evenly distributed. Pop it into your preheated oven.

Depending upon the size of your dish and your ovens idiosyncrasies, this takes between 40 and 55 minutes to cook. It's done when it's golden brown and firm and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Sometimes I find an extra ten minutes with the temperature turned up to 200, gives the Bake an extra crusty top.

Serve dusted with icing sugar or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar with a little cream, custard, ice cream or yoghurt on the side if you wish. One layer of Apple Tray Bake is yummy, a tower of layers sprinkled with caster sugar or cinnamon sugar is a sight to behold and hard to resist!

This is a great one to serve for a crowd or for one very greedy family... he-he!

You can discover more of Mimi's creations in our Members' Blog section at </blog/>.

10. Claire's Corner: A $0.54c Cure for My $4.50 Habit!

In the spirit of the upcoming $0.50c Indulgence Month, I am quite proud to have broken a year-long habit that was costing me around $30 a week, replacing it with one that costs just less than $4.00 a week (and appears to be helping my waistline reduce too!).

Last month, I shared how I managed to shave $188,846 worth of interest off my mortgage. The majority of this was by having my interest rate cut, but $23,200 of that sum was saved by increasing my fortnightly payments by the cost of a cup of coffee per day.

My daily espresso habit had crept up on me over about a year... since discovering THE best coffee in town. I used to limit myself to one or two 'bought' coffees a week, but then I discovered a café just downstairs from where I work part-time in the city. Their coffee is perfect, and somewhat addictive. And I love coffee... it's my only vice, without it, I get headaches, I get moody and I'm just not very nice to be around. But with great coffee just a short trip down the stairs, well, I had the perfect excuse to nip out of work for five minutes and come back with my little cup of happiness. But at $4.50 a pop, it was starting to add up. Perhaps not coincidentally, my waistline was starting to expand too.

So I took the stand and decided enough was enough. 'No more,' I said! 'I shall be strong,' I said! Yet there I was, Day One, teetering on the brink of withdrawal, dreaming of my perfect brew, imagining the soothing aroma... my inner-addict crying out for a hit of java. How was I going to get through the day, let alone the week, let alone forever? I tried having instant coffee powder... but my taste buds staged an immediate riot, followed by an uprising of my nerves... instant was not going to cut the mustard!

Then it struck me, I remembered the last time I had to go without my life support in-a-cup. It was back in October when I went along to Emily's school camp on Kawau Island. I took along a pack of Nescafe Cappuccino (extra strong!). And surprisingly, these little sachets of faux-coffee somehow got me through. It was a big ask, but I survived the week without any headaches or irritability (none that can be blamed on coffee withdrawal anyway), and quite enjoyed my instant, no-fuss, low-cost coffee alternative.

So a couple of weekends back, I popped in to the local supermarket and picked up a box of 20 - on special for just $10.99. That's just $0.54c each! And the wonderful thing is, I don't miss my $4.50 coffee at all! Yep, I'm now two weeks in and my expensive coffee habit seems to be a thing of the past! I can't believe I was spending so much when there was a perfectly good alternative at a fraction of the price! Hurruh for 50c indulgences!

You can read more of Claire's warm and wonderful words in our Members' Blog section at </blog/>

11. 50c Indulgences: Inspirations from 'Gone with the Wind'

Our most recent 'Indulgences under 50c thread' was called 'Inspirations from Gone with the Wind'. Helen came up with this theme to remind us of 'ingenuity', such as that used by Scarlett O'Hara when she had to use curtains to make a new dress. So this month, we are making over our wardrobes without spending any money.

I have gone through everything I have and tried it on, invented new outfits and colour combinations. My favourite of all colour combinations is dusty blues with browns which I once would not have considered. I borrowed this one from nature, a brown cat with blue eyes and it just works! Considering new colour schemes, a little bit of mending, a couple of alterations and a session of re-dying to revive some black items gave me lots to work with. I polished up my boots and handbags using my favourite trick, a little vaseline on a soft cloth. They look like new. Used on leather this also has the effect of waterproofing. It works so well, even concealing little scuffs and scratches.

Most of us have all sorts of lovely things in our wardrobes we never use as they are 'too good'. For me that included a collection of pretty little purses and evening bags. Many are just lovely but even in the evening I seem to need my phone, brush, lipstick and money and it's all too much for a dainty little purse. I've brought them back to life and they give me joy everyday as gorgeous makeup purses and handy travel purses.

An old Glomesh cigarette case I found in an op shop houses my camera just perfectly. A Glomesh glasses case is the perfect size for my make-up. A small purse carries emergency supplies like Disprin and Band-Aids that I take everywhere. An evening purse is now my bag to keep jewellery in when I go away on holidays and it makes up the prettiest part of my packing. Little purses serve the same function as a bag organiser, to change handbags you simply move your purse system from one bag to another.

I love scarves too but cannot seem to wear square ones well - but tied to my handbag, they look beautiful! I can then work them in with what I'm wearing.

Last year one of my best things for winter was a blue cardigan with a blue fur shawl collar. I wore it day and evening. I had bought a blue fur coat in an op shop for $12 which I knew was way too much and made me look like a blue bear! BUT the collar was gorgeous so I cut it off and stitched it to a cardigan. So my beautiful blue cardigan cost around $25 all up. This year my daughter gave me a similar cut-off fur collar and pinning it onto a cardigan has given me another fabulous item for very little. My daughter also cut up a fur to make herself one of the trendy fur vests seen at the moment and it turned out wonderfully. The remnants made edges for boots and gloves.

There is just so much you can do! So take a look at your things in a new way and maybe even your mother's, grandma's or great aunt's things! Don't think 'old stuff', think 'vintage'. Many older things are beautifully made and wonderfully stylish... which is why I can never say no to a Glomesh bag! I hope you find some possibilities in your own wardrobe for the cooler months to come.

Come and join us as we continue on our challenges throughout the year to brighten up our lives for mere pennies and cheer each other on. A little bit of encouragement and a lot of ideas can make so much difference to your day!

You can drop in and join Helen, Annabel and the Under 50c Army here: Inspirations from 'Gone with the Wind'. Under 50 cent indulgences April 2013

12. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Saving Some Seeds and a Treat for Dinner!

Saving and storing chilli seeds

We have been lucky enough to get a bumper harvest of the bih jolokia chillies. In fact, I think we have grown enough to provide us with sufficient tongue-blistering hot curries for at least the next five to ten years. As I am not a glutton for punishment I have decided to collect some seeds from them to share with a few people and freeze the flesh for anyone who will take it.:D»

Saving any type of chilli or capsicum seeds is fairly straight forward. All that is needed is a few sheets of paper towel and somewhere to keep them safe while they dry. A few precautions need to be taken when dealing with these little fellers and other hot chillies, so some rubber gloves were used due to the amount of 'heat' these guys have in their flesh/juice. These chillies are right up there in the top seven hottest chillies according to the chart in this link http://www.peppersrus.com/pages.php?id=2538 and I got a slight burn on my wrist from the juice while I was working with these guys.

Collecting the seeds is as easy as scraping them from the pith while preparing the evening meal and one chilli should give you more than enough to grow the next crop. I like to set them aside on some paper towel to dry for a week or so.

I find it best to use bulldog clips to hold the paper secured to the plate so you don't have seeds flying everywhere if knocked. I have also posted on some little paper towel envelopes that are easy to make up and handy for drying small amounts of seed in.

Once the seeds are dry they are ready to be packed up and stored in small envelopes, plastic bags or wrapped in foil then stored in a dry, cool dark place. Moisture is the biggest enemy of seed savers so be sure to make certain that they are all dried properly before storing.

I use cracker containers and keep the seeds grouped in larger bags according to varieties. These containers live in a bookshelf that gets no direct sunlight and are in a cool spot in the lounge room.

Wandering the patch

Still waiting for half of the garlic that was planted to make an appearance.

All but one of the garlic that got the fridge treatment have shot, so am most happy with that and the next lot should be ready to go in this week.

The raspberries are pumping out the fruit at the moment and make a great snack while wandering the garden. However, I think we will need at least another two barrels or a small bed's worth to get enough to preserve.

Bianca is planning on a beef rending curry tomorrow and it looks like we will be picking the first of our wing beans as a side

Have been looking forward to these guys for the past few months. **: )»**

I am happy with the way the jade perch are going at the moment. It's a bit hard to tell from the picture but I think we will be harvesting three or four in about a month's time. We are really looking forward to our first meal of home grown fish.

Treat for dinner

We were very lucky to get a gift of four large jade perch from a local grower and aquaculture specialist this week. He brought them over live in a large esky so they could be despatched, scaled and cleaned fresh for dinner that night. I was most impressed with the girls as they were present and interested in the whole process and they got to see first-hand how the fish were prepared. We cooked them up as he suggested with just some salt and pepper in a hot pan.

Not being a very big fish eater I was not sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. They were slightly oily but I sort of expected that as they are said to be the fish with the highest omega 3 content. Was very happy to get at preparing and tasting them now, as ours will be ready to start harvesting in a month or so I hope. : )»

Hope you all have a great weekend...
Rob

Read more of Rob Bob's garden blogs in our Members' Blog area.

13. David Wright: Saving CAN be Fun!

I've been talking in previous articles about getting your finances to a place where you can pay your bills and your loans and start to save money. When you finally get there, it is an overwhelming feeling of relief to know that your finances are in order - I know, I've been there! Sometimes though, we are so busy herding every cent into this account or that loan that we can forget something very important - that life is supposed to be fun! It would be a very grim existence indeed if all we thought about was our bank accounts. So I'd like to let you in on my secret of how to save money AND have fun!

First let me share a story with you - back in 1986, my wife and I were living in a remote area in a cheap government house. We knew we would be transferred to a bigger city the next year and that once there, we would have to start paying much more expensive rent. What we did was 'pretend' we had to start paying that expensive rent a year earlier. We found all sorts of ways to put that extra money away into a special account and got a real kick out of watching it grow. When we were finally transferred to the Sunshine Coast, this money was a great start for a house deposit. And that is my secret - make a game out of motivating yourself to save money when you ordinarily wouldn't. We made a game out of 'finding' extra money and 'pretending' we actually had to pay rent. Of course we didn't - we knew that - but it was very satisfying finding ways to save money and reduce spending. Making a game out of it took some of the 'sting' out of not being able to spend that money!

Here's another example - if you want to buy a new car, do your research and go for a test drive. Fall in love with that car! But postpone the purchase for four to six months and START MAKING PRETEND REPAYMENTS ON A PRETEND CAR LOAN INTO A SAVINGS ACCOUNT. To keep yourself motivated and connected to why you are saving, make sure you drive past or pop in every now and then to look at 'your car'. You'll be able to save without the stress of a real loan, and if you find you are happy making the repayments you will have a nice deposit saved up when the six months are up and you'll be ahead! If you find you don't like making the repayments it will have been a lucky escape. It is important to note here that borrowing for anything that loses money is dangerous because if you decide AFTER making the purchase that it was a bad decision, you can't sell the item and pay off all of the loan with the proceeds. Pretending you have made the purchase is also a great way to make sure you really DO want to make the purchase.

So this month I'd like you to think of some 'games' you might play to achieve your savings goals and email them in so we can share them next month. It is amazing what tricks we can come up with to help us save money for something special.

14. From Last Month: Lose Weight, Not Dollars

Last month Jen Aitken emailed us about ideas to help lose weight inexpensively.

"I am looking to lose weight but I often find dieting can be expensive. Ironically, when you eat healthily with lean protein and fresh fruit and vegetables, it can be more expensive than filling up on cheap carbohydrates. Does anyone have any economic suggestions that they have tried and succeeded with (apart from the obvious of just eating less!)?"

We got some fantastic ideas - thank you for sharing your wisdom! Here are some of our favourite replies:

Fantastic, free weight loss website

If you're trying to lose weight without spending too much, I can highly recommend the website www.weighitup.com.au.

This is a free service which provides fantastic eating and exercise plans. The recipes are all seasonal, nutritional and really tasty! There is even a plan for vegetarians. You can print off your menu plan, shopping list and recipes each week and can access old plans through the archive. The plan also gives a selection of snacks for in-between meals.

There is also an exercise plan which caters for beginners and intermediate fitness levels, they even have demonstration videos for you to check that you're doing each exercise correctly. You can input your statistics and update it weekly to follow your progress, and there is a forum to connect with others.

I have made a ring-binder with each of the plans and go back to my favourite recipes often. It takes a bit of planning and organisation, as any weight loss program does, but you can do it for as long as you like without paying for meetings or deliveries and the exercises can be done almost anywhere too!

Contributed by: Kath Wyer

Plan, shop and think your way to weight loss

Find a good fruit/vegie shop and a good butcher and only buy what you need. Buying 150g of lean meat means you are not paying for fat and buying boneless will save money. Buy only what you need in fruit too, for example, three pieces of fruit per day. Buy weekly so fresh fruit and vegies don't spoil. If your supermarket has a market day, make that your shopping day.

If you are time poor, shop around the outside of your supermarket to get your bread, meat, fruit, vegies and dairy so you miss out on the chocolate biscuit aisle and use some of the hints from Simple Savings for deodorant and house cleaners!

Change your thought patterns from 'eating junk food is so much cheaper than eating fresh fruit and vegies' to 'my health and well-being is worth every cent spent on food that is good for my mind, body and spirit'. You will save time and money on doctor appointments and on medication when you look after your health.

Do the maths too! Organising and planning your food can make eating well a lot cheaper! McDonald's Choc Frappe, Big Mac and medium fries is about $11. Over seven days, that's $77. A healthier option is:

150g of lean meat/fish/chicken at $10/kg over seven days = $10.50.
2kg fresh vegies (two cups a meal x seven meals) = $7.00 max.
1 tub of yoghurt x $1.50 x seven days for dessert = $7.50.
1 apple x $3.00/kg x seven days = $3.00.
TOTAL = $28

You have saved $49 which you can put into savings or pay toward your debt.

You can also swap recipes with friends and co-workers. Have a group of friends swap cooking for each other over the course of a month and you'll have plenty of good company and save money on electricity too!

Exercise for half an hour every day and you will sleep better, feel better and look after yourself better while encouraging yourself to keep losing weight. Save money by walking with an iPod or with a friend or your dog rather than using a gym. Another tip, Google exercises you can do at home using items from your kitchen as weights.

Contributed by: Tammy F.

Fresh, seasonal produce the key to weight loss

Losing weight needn't cost a fortune, it's really just a matter of knowing what to eat! Here are some of my suggestions:

Eating loads of fresh fruit and vegies is a good way to shed kilos and also to help protect you in the future from 'lifestyle' diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. It's best to buy whatever is in season - this produce is healthier because when it grows in season, the plant needs less chemicals as it is being helped by nature. You can get loads of fresh produce for a very good price by only buying what's in season.

I also recommend cutting down or eliminating all animal protein (including dairy and eggs) and loading up on beans - they're a nutritional powerhouse! Nuts are okay, but are high in fat so beans and pulses are best. As a bonus, cutting down animal protein will save you money at the check-out.

"Eat to Live" by Dr Joel Furhmann explains why this diet is the healthiest long-term. It's a super-quick way to lose weight and feel really great too!

Contributed by: Lois Nethery

Lose weight, not dollars!

My low-cost tip for weight loss is to eat fruit and vegetables with every meal where possible. For breakfast, try eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes or cereal with fruit. When snacking, choose a fresh piece of fruit or perhaps some vegetable sticks. It also helps to limit your carb intake at night. And finally, drink plenty of water!

Contributed by: Sue Keane

Practice mindful eating for weight loss

Losing weight can be difficult, especially when lean proteins are so expensive! A good alternative is to have beans and pulses such as lentils, kidney beans, berlotti beans and so on. These are high in protein and cost very little. And if you have a slow-cooker, try cooking cheaper cuts of meat for longer so they become tender and delicious.

Another great technique to help lose weight is to eat every three hours so you don't get too hungry and overeat. It also helps to eat from a smaller plate so you eat less. And of course, practice eating mindfully - this means you acknowledge, indulge and enjoy every aspect of the meal, so no TV or other distractions! Sit and look at the meal, see the colours and concentrate on the smells. Be aware of the texture and tastes and chew slowly and carefully. There are books on this method and mindfulness is a general technique used in behaviour change. I used it to quit smoking and it worked first time!

Contributed by: Nicole D

Less sugar, less waist!

I managed to lose two centimetres from my waist in just two weeks by cutting out sugar! I measured my waist when I first started, then went cold turkey for two weeks avoiding cakes, biscuits and drinks with more than 15 grams of sugar.

Admittedly, my sweet tooth is a bit of a problem so I allow myself to cheat once in a while, but try to stick to my no sugar rule as much as possible. I've also increased the amount of exercise I do, such as taking the stairs instead of the lift. By reducing my sugar intake, I feel a lot better, have more energy and my appetite has decreased!

I'm now having to buy smaller clothes, but plan to sell my old clothes to fund my new wardrobe! Cutting back on sugar has been the best thing I could have done and wish I had done it when I was a lot younger!

Contributed by: Danielle Oki

Walk your way to weight loss

I've found a fantastic, totally free way to lose weight, saving me the $650 per year it was costing to go to the gym!

I went to the gym four times a week for two years without losing any weight. I worked out for 45 minutes and was monitoring my food intake, but without success! So I decided enough was enough and stopped going. Since then we've moved house and I've started walking along the beach each day for 45 minutes. I weigh myself once a week only and record my weight on Pink Pad (a free app for tracking your period, but also useful for weight loss!). I am now regularly losing 500g a week! I walk at a quick pace to '60s music. It's free, and for me, it has worked!

Contributed by: Sue H

Hubby and I lost 17kg each on a budget

Eating healthily and losing weight can be simple and affordable! My husband and I each lost 17 kilos on a very strict budget by getting the right advice!

Two years ago we went to see a dietitian due to my husband's weight. The dietitian gave us the general principles of losing weight - which turned out to be low-GI. We were on a budget and only had $100 to spend per week on food and groceries. But we managed to plan five healthy meals a day (including snacks).

The basic principles include eating at least five serves of vegetables a day, two serves of fruit and following the correct number of protein and carbohydrates for your personal situation, plus a suitable number of dairy serves. Shopping at local fruit and vegie shops saved me heaps as I wasn't tempted to buy too much in the grocery aisles. I also set a timer when going to the supermarket so I only filled my list based on the specials I was there for. Sticking to the dietary serving suggestions will also save you money as the dinner plate should be half vegetables, quarter protein (lean meats) and low-GI carbohydrate.

We spent $130 on visits to the dietitian and then cancelled future visits after I borrowed a number of low-GI library books. We created our own menu plans and shopped buying mainly vegies and fruits, low-GI breads, and cereals (oats are healthy and cheap). I also stocked up on frozen vegetables and berries when on sale.

My snacks included wholemeal muesli slice, sliced vegetables and crackers and cheese. Lunches included vegetable soups, sandwiches or salads with protein. Breakfast could be low-GI bread with peanut paste or oats with fruit and yoghurt, for example.

Contributed by: Sarah Smith

Beans and legumes

These are great, cheap protein sources, especially if you cook them up yourself in the slow cooker. There are lots of great recipes online. Some of my favourites include dhal, red lentil and vegie soup, and bean and tomato soup. Healthyfood.co.nz has excellent recipes with the cost per serve shown.

Contributed by: Jo Cook

Soup is the solution!

Try eating more soup! You only need a few vegies (the more the merrier) and a stock cube and you can make a variety of filling, nutritious, low-fat cheap meals.

Separate into batches and freeze. You can make it even cheaper by making your own vegetable stock and freezing what you don't use. If you're still hungry, try supplementing with an English muffin, piece of toast, or some low-fat crackers. Alternatively, throw your leftover bits of pasta, beans or rice into the soup as it cooks. It will keep you going all week!

I use a base of leek, onion and celery, then add garlic and whatever vegies and herbs/spices I want to. Pop in a stock cube and water, then bring to a boil and simmer until your vegies are cooked.

Contributed by: Jessica H.

15. This Month's Help Request: Don't Let Clutter Get the Best of You

Denise Partridge has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I would like some hints on decluttering. It is too easy to buy things cheaply and collect far more than we need. I'd like some ideas on decluttering and limiting waste so I can spend more time on what I want to do."

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Denise, please send them in to us here.

16. Goodbye For Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for April 2013. We hope you have enjoyed it and have been inspired by all the money saving tips. Don't forget to take some time out and indulge yourself just a little bit and gift some joy to someone else as well!

Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say 'G'day'. Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

Till next time...
All the best
Fiona

April 2015 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - April 2015

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: What a Waste!
April: The $21 Challenge
Best of the Vault: Take the $21 Challenge
Best of the Forum: Waste Not, Want Not!
Best Members' Blog: Cast Your Net Wider for Even Better Savings
Mimi: Baked Ricotta Feeds Us for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
From Last Month: Keeping Our Seniors Safe
This Month's Help Request: Getting Saucy!

Hello!

It's April! We hope you enjoyed a happy Easter with your family and friends. We had great fun making a few Create-aways in March and have added them to our regular menu plan. This month I want you to think about how much food we waste - I found this fantastic info-graphic which illustrates it perfectly:

www.lunchalot.com/foodwaste.php

It really makes you think doesn't it?

I always love hearing your savings ideas and stories and tips! Here are some of my favourites this month:

"I really enjoy reading your newsletters and particularly about how other members are putting all the tips and tricks into good use. A lot through necessity (unfortunately) but the importance and pride that they're taking in making ends meet is really lovely to read about. Kudos to you for sharing the tips and building such a community." (Kate)

"Hi Fiona. I'm a new Forum member and had to email and tell you how much I've learned, just in the last week. I am loving the information and support from your Forum members. Thank you!" (Saskia)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. Our Simple Savers Facebook group has 5000 members and is getting busier every day. Come and say hello.

P.P.S. Our gardening guru Rob Bob is having a break this month but if you need a fix, you can find him here.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: What a Waste!

Hanna jumped up from her chair and slammed the newspaper on the table. The headline read, "We waste 20% of all food we buy!" She turned to Sally and started to rant, "Did you know that for every five bags of groceries people buy, they throw out ONE bag COMPLETELY UNEATEN! That's like throwing $20 in the bin every time you spend $100 on groceries. $20 in the bin! Can you believe that, Sal?"

Sally looked sheepish, "Yes, Hanna, I can actually. I used to throw out that much food." Hanna frowned, looking perplexed at Sal. "Really? What changed?" Sal looked embarrassed. "Well, umm... you changed me. You told me about the $21 Challenge and well, at first I thought you were slightly mad! But then I actually DID a $21 Challenge and it taught me how to use up everything I already had in the cupboard and fridge. I realised I was letting food go to waste and then going shopping to replace it! Who was the mad one?!"

Hanna laughed, "Sal, I think you have the answer right there. The whole world needs to do the $21 Challenge!"

2. April: The $21 Challenge

We think Hanna is on to something - imagine how much less waste there would be if more people did a $21 Challenge every now and then! The $21 Challenge is the ultimate way to ensure you have no waste in your kitchen. It's time to 'Face the Waste'!

Your challenge this month is to not throw any food away. This month we want you to do as many $21 Challenges as you can, but not just to save money; to avoid waste. We want you to use up every last scrap of food you have and stop taking it for granted. There is a huge amount of energy, time and resources going into producing our food so don't throw it away - eat it! If you focus on this for one month, you'll find your habits changing. You'll be using up the food you buy without having to think about it. No more throwing money in the bin!

Obviously you'll still have to buy groceries this month, but perhaps you might do a $21 Challenge your first week, then spend $100 on groceries the second week, $150 the third week and so on. The aim is to 'Face the Waste' and stop wasting precious food. For those of you who haven't heard of the $21 Challenge, click here for much more information.

There are hundreds of threads in the Forum and we'll post information, ideas and recipes on our Simple Savers Facebook page

We'd love to hear how you get on so please let us know! Good luck!

3. Best of the Vault: Take the $21 Challenge

The $21 Challenge is a fantastic way to save money, stocktake your fridge and cupboards - and have fun doing it! Here are some great ideas that will help.

$21 Challenge keeps the budget nag at bay

Contributed by: Louise Blackmore

Simple system reduces food waste

I used to waste quite a bit of food as family members would move stuff around the fridge and freezer until it was hidden out of sight. So I bought two small magnetic whiteboards for around $7.00 each and put one on my fridge and one on my freezer. I now note down the opened items, fruit and vegetables and leftovers in my fridge and freezer - because of this I now know what is in there and I can make up menu plans accordingly!

Contributed by: Sue Brown

Cornflour makes an egg-cellent substitute

Next time you run out of eggs, don't panic! Due to the expense of buying eggs and not having any on hand, I recently decided to try using two tablespoons of cornflour per egg in a biscuit recipe. I then added milk and the biscuits turned out exactly the same!

Contributed by: Dana Grayling

Home-made gnocci

With a little effort, you can make fabulous meals with very humble ingredients. For example, home-made gnocchi requires less than a kilo of potatoes, some flour and two egg yolks to feed four people. Gnocchi can be dressed simply with some butter, herbs from the garden and Parmesan. Another tasty option is to puree some baked pumpkin and garnish with fried bacon and sage. Both meals are superb.

Ingredients:

800g potatoes - choose same sized potatoes so they cook at the same time
2 egg yolks
100g plain flour
Salt

Method:

Bake potatoes in their jackets for about one hour or until tender in a 200C oven. Peel, then mash thoroughly. Add egg yolks, flour and salt. Knead well until the dough is elastic. Shape dough into small balls and make long rolls as thick as a thumb; it is best to do this on a lightly floured board. Cut into 2cm segments. Press each segment gently with a fork.

Place in lightly salted boiling water, in batches, until they rise to the top; about six minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. You may need to keep the cooked batches warm in the oven while you cook the rest.

Buon appetito!

Contributed by: Louise Saw

4. Best of the Forum: Waste Not, Want Not!

It can be hard to start your first $21 Challenge - but once you start, you'll be hooked! Here are some great ideas to get you started:

Go-to meals... instead of takeaway

Financially Fit Mum is on a mission to avoid expensive takeaway - and she wants to be prepared!
read more...

Sourdough

Sourdough could be an easy, versatile and tasty idea for your $21 Challenge week - what are you waiting for?!
read more...

Pizza scrolls

Our wonderful Forum members have some great ideas for pizza scrolls - great for morning teas, famished teens, lunches and easy dinners.
read more...

Recipes from 'How low can you go?' - #4

There are so many good ideas collated by Claire here, you're going to need a cup of tea, or two (!), to get through them.
read more...

5. Best Members' Blog: Cast Your Net Wider for Even Better Savings

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Leejay, our 'Urban Hunter Gatherer'!

"I am a serious Urban Hunter Gatherer. I stalk supermarket mark-downs and clearance items with a seriousness that borders on obsession.

There are four supermarkets within 3km of where I live and I thought I knew what to expect from each one. But yesterday I learned something. Just because a shop is part of a chain, doesn't mean that they all work in the same way.

For example, my local big name supermarket marks down meat approaching the use-by date by a dollar or two. Catch it the day before use-by and this can be as much as 25% to 50% off. Not bad. The same supermarket chain in the next suburb starts their mark-down process at a 50% discount, which reduces as the use-by date approaches. This can give a discounted price of 50% to 75%.

Here are a few tips for buying marked-down meat.

Always keep the receipt. If it is not fresh, take it back. Even though it is a mark-down, it should still be edible.
Freeze immediately. Don't drive around all day with your meat in the car!
Large cuts can be great value. Slice or dice and freeze or cook straight away for cold meat cuts.
Deli items close to use-by can also be frozen. I regularly freeze dips, yoghurt, cream, milk and whole luncheon meats like Strasbourg. (Note - sliced meats don't seem to do as well in the freezer in my experience.)

So don't pass a supermarket! If you have time, pop in and take a walk around the walls. This is where you will find your fresh items and the best mark-downs. And remember shopping Karma - don't be greedy! Buy what you need but leave one for someone else. That way next time you look for bargains they will be there just waiting for you."

Well done Leejay!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

6. Mimi: Baked Ricotta Feeds Us for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Baked ricotta is the easiest thing ever. It's a bit like a cross between a quiche and a savoury cheesecake and is really versatile. I made one this week in a silicone loaf pan. We had it as breakfast the next morning, served on toast with rocket leaves and oven-dried tomatoes. The next day I sent it with my daughter for lunch, diced on top of some salad leaves, and my husband and I enjoyed it broken into chunks and tossed with rice noodles, wilted baby spinach and a drizzle of garlic infused oil. Then last night, we had it cubed and mixed with steamed sweet potato chunks, chick peas, corn kernels, fresh herbs and brown rice. All were pronounced keepers.

Now there are only three of us, one loaf has lasted us well. If you have a larger family it either won't stretch as far or you'll need to increase your quantities. You can double or triple quantities of ingredients to make a larger loaf or several small ones.

This makes a great addition to a platter of nibblies too, either as a whole loaf with ciabata or crackers and a knife to carve slices, or in cubes or ready cut slices atop anything from slivers of tomato and cucumber, to Melba toast and wraps. It's really economical compared to gourmet cheeses or bought quiche or other nibble type things too.

You'll need:

375g tub ricotta
2 eggs
½ tsp each garlic granules, dried onion flakes, dried chilli flakes, dried oregano and dried basil, or fresh or minced equivalent quantities
A silicone loaf pan or a Pyrex or bakeware one, sprayed with cooking spray and lined on the base with baking paper

Then just:

Preheat the oven to 175C fan forced or 180C normal.

Tip the ricotta into a large mixing bowl and add the other ingredients. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and well combined.

Scoop the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for up to 75 minutes, until firm and springy to the touch in the centre.

Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan. I usually leave ours in the pan at this stage, covering the surface with cling wrap to prevent it drying out in the refrigerator.

Carve slices as required.

Yum. :)

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

7. From Last Month: Keeping Our Seniors Safe

Last month Jilly emailed us about ideas for keeping her elderly parents safe at home.

"Can I please ask your subscribers for help? I am trying to help my elderly parents stay at home as long as possible and wondered if people had ideas and tips to make their home 'safer' for them. I'm also looking for ideas so we can make life easier for them as well."

We were absolutely overwhelmed with your fantastic ideas for Jilly, thank you! Here are some of our favourites!

Call Home Assist for help at home

The Commonwealth Government funds a program to help anyone over 60 remain in their own home. It's called Home Assist in Queensland and something similar in other states. Through this service, people are able to have an occupational therapist come out and assess their home and make recommendations and the service will then assist in having the work done.

Through Home Assist my mother had grab rails installed in the shower, hand rails installed on steps and stairs, and smoke alarms installed. They will come out on request to change light bulbs that are out of reach.

There is a small fee for services such as the occupational therapist. For work done by the on-staff handyman, all we needed to do was reimburse them for the cost of the materials. If home repairs/maintenance is needed, they will recommend tradesmen who have been vetted so you can be confident elderly people are safe.

Home Assist Secure, Queensland

Contributed by: Jennifer C

HACC and myagedcare.gov.au for aged care help

You can get help for seniors from a website called myagedcare.gov.au which is run by the government. There is information on what services are available, hints for carers of aged people (through an organisation called HACC) and a telephone number where you can reach them. They will advise on what subsidised services are available, such as handyman jobs, lawn mowing, gardening, meals and transport.

My husband is a disabled pensioner and I am his carer. After a recent visit to hospital we had a consultation with an occupational therapist who advised us on safety at home - such things as a seat in the shower, rubber mats on bathroom floors and handrails for outside access to the garden. In addition to this it helps if you get your family to assist with decluttering your home. If you haven't used something for the last two years, then you need to dispose of it.

Contributed by: Norma King

Help for seniors starts with ACAT and HACC

Help keep seniors safe at home by getting them all the help they are entitled to.

An ACAT (Aged Care Assessment Team) referral would mean they get an assessment of their needs in the way of home care and from that the possibility of a Home and Community Care Package. This can be up to 14 hours assistance a week, dependent on their assessment. Allowing a small amount of time for admin, they could reasonably expect assistance with personal care (showers), shopping, household duties (cleaning, ironing), doctors' appointments and even meal preparation. All of this can relieve the stress of coping and make it easier to remain in their own home for as long as they can.

These packages are Home and Community Care funded and require a co-payment usually $5.00 per hour of assistance given. This is a lot cheaper than private assistance and Community Carers are police checked and are covered by insurance. An ACAT assessment may mean you can access a yearly spring clean at a reduced rate or free of charge. Also, your details are in the system should your needs change and this could expediate access to services in the future.

Contributed by: Glenys Smith(Gordon)

Free 'Fall Prevention' sessions in NSW

The NSW State Government's Department of Health is conducting free courses on fall prevention. The course I attended was called 'Stepping On'. It was two hours at the local hospital, run by physiotherapists and had lots of information on diet, hearing, coping with failing hearing and so on. There were many tips on how to improve the home environment to reduce the chance of falls. They will also come out to our home and assess safety issues and recommend improvements. I learnt a lot!

Contributed by: Barbara

Ask Volunteer Task Force for help at home

The Volunteer Task Force is a not-for-profit organisation that helps frail and aged in their own homes. They help with gardeners, cleaners, drivers for outings/shopping and also help to make the home safe.

volunteertaskforce.org.au

Contributed by: Julie Buxton

Help for seniors starts at home

Here are a few things you can do to help elderly parents:

Cook meals ahead of time for them and freeze them in individual portion sizes to be reheated in the microwave
Install handrails in the bathroom and toilet to make it easier
Get non-slip mats for the shower, bath and any wet areas
Move furniture around in the house to make getting around easier and move any trip hazards such as electrical cords or smaller pieces of furniture
Get extra help from friends and neighbours (or an organisation) to do gardening or any heavy work around the house.

Contributed by: Clare I

Power of Attorney and PayPass can help seniors with paying bills

One of my big worries with elderly parents has been about them managing money. If you don't have a Power of Attorney for your parents, do it now. Even without a Power of Attorney you can become authorised to access your parents' bank accounts. Arrange an appointment with a bank officer for yourself and your parents, and once you have access you can arrange for all bills to be paid automatically.

Any occasional accounts such as those from tradespeople can also be paid from bank accounts which reduce the need to carry cash and reduces the likelihood that a dishonest person will try to overcharge them. Services such as GP, dentist and pharmacy will usually agree to send invoices to you so you can pay your parents' bills by bank transfer.

Next, teach your folks how to use PayPass safely. No more standing at a checkout unfolding bills from their wallet or standing there saying their PIN aloud because they have trouble remembering it. Sure, PayPass has its own pitfalls, but I think it's safer on balance.

These few steps have helped me to feel more confident about my mother's safety, and they have helped her to feel confident to go on managing as much of her business as she possibly can, which keeps her engaged and independent. Wins all round!

Contributed by: Kate Hitchens

Create your own alert system for elderly parents

I was recently worried about my elderly mum who lives alone. We have set up an alert system whereby if she doesn't email or phone her sister before 10am every morning, her sister will drive round to check on her (she lives close by, whereas I am an hour away).

We also moved the most-used items in the kitchen to the easiest to reach cupboards, same with bathroom and linen cupboards. We installed a gate across the entrance for extra security and got a personal security button in the event of a fall. She has large key phones and keyed alike door locks for ease of use. It was an easy process and only took a few hours, and I am at peace with what we have done for Mum (for now!).

Contributed by: Helen D

Adapting home helps elderly feel safer

For help in the home for elderly parents, their GP can refer them to either an occupational therapist or the Aged Care Assessment Team who will have many ideas on home safety. Some of those may include non-slip mats, removal of bath/stepped-up showers, adding handrails, removing trip hazards and so on.

Some of my favourite tips relate to adequate lighting. You can buy touch-sensitive bedside lamps that are very easy to turn on with no switches to fiddle with. Certain small lights can be plugged into power sockets to light the way to the bathroom and turn on automatically once dark. Lighting is very important in falls prevention as is removing excess furniture.

Multiple phone lines with handsets around the house might also be helpful. 'Emergency Alarm Pendants' such as Vitalcall that hang around the neck and can be pushed in an emergency are life-savers, and sometimes they are discounted if you order them online.

The Government has put quite a bit of funding into services coming to people's homes which are designed to keep them in their own home for as long as possible. If we don't use them we lose them!

Contributed by: Jenny W

Help for elderly with home security and Meals on Wheels

To help keep elderly people safe at home, make sure that there are sufficient railings near stairs or steps (and don't forget outside in the garden). Put locks on windows and doors if possible but otherwise get some dowel from a hardware store to put into the groove behind the window when closed. These are easy, as when the window is open the dowel is not in place but it reminds one to shut windows before retiring or going shopping - put the dowel on the table so it reminds them there are windows open.

Check with Meals on Wheels for possible visits if needed, and for home-made meals you can batch cook but make sure they know how to use the microwave safely! (Hint - when meals come out there is a large amount of steam, so leave for a few minutes, pry off one edge and then open lid or remove plastic.)

Contributed by: Judith W

Excellent tips to help keep seniors safe

I work for an ambulance service and hope these tips may help keep elderly people safe at home.

Look for a personal alarm system. They can be a button on a pendant or watch-style and can be as simple as a unit attached to their phone which calls five numbers until someone answers. There is also a monitored version (available through some home security services or possibly your state ambulance service). There are also organisations such as St John's who make daily phone calls to check on older people. If your Senior gets on well with a neighbour, maybe a signal system may work, for example, if the front blind isn't up by a set time, the neighbour can check on them.
There are services available to assess the home for falls risks like floor mats, steps and so on. Talk to their doctor or council to find these. They may also be able to help with things like rails in the toilet/bathroom, seat raisers for the toilet and blocks to help elevate lounge chairs/beds.
Ask their GP to regularly assess their mobility, especially after they've been ill as they may lose their health quickly, or if there's been any changes physically or mentally. Even medication changes can play havoc with people's well being.
Pharmacies will make up weekly blister packs (Webster Pack or similar) for any medications to make taking tablets daily a lot easier.
Set up a keybox or spare key hide and give the location/code to family, a trusted neighbour and the local ambulance service - it saves breaking windows or doors in case of emergency.
If getting in or out of a car is becoming a problem, a plastic shopping bag (and towel in warm weather) on the seat can make pivoting in and out easier. There are also 'hand grips' available that hook onto the door latch on the car's pillar for extra leverage.
Make sure smoke detectors are in good working order. They can also be set up with a flashing light for the hearing impaired.
Check any temperature controls on hot water systems as frail skin burns easily. Storage systems need to be hot enough to prevent Legionnaires Disease, but not hot enough to burn.
Review lighting in the home for those nocturnal trips to the loo.
Check the toilet door (if it's not in the bathroom) and see if they can be retro-fitted to open outwards for easy access in an emergency.
Look at cupboards and storage in the home and put regularly used items in easy reach to prevent falls, rather than too high or low. The best height is shoulder to thigh height, definitely no lower than the knee, and at a height that doesn't need them to climb or over-reach.
If arthritis is a problem, look into assistance products available such as those for opening jars, turning taps on and off and so on.
Meals On Wheels or assistance with weekly shopping is available. Check the fridge and freezer for use-by dates or food that's been there a while to prevent food poisoning.
If they use wheat bags (hot packs), beware that these can catch fire or scorch furnishings and fabric if frequently reheated - or worse, burn frail skin if they get too hot.
Take notice of unusual smells in the home, for example, a strong smelling urine may indicate a urine infection. Elderly people will very often display some confusion with this as well, but it's usually easily treatable with antibiotics.
Locum services are an option for short notice, unscheduled home visits for minor issues. If you are at all unsure, please ring your ambulance service for advice. They'll let you know whether they'll send a crew to them or if a locum service is a better option to help.

Contributed by: Caroline S

Increase flexibility to help with fall risk

A couple of quick tips for ageing parents:

A major cause of misery can be a fall causing pain, expense and immobility. Falls do not have to be a part of ageing. Joining a Tai Chi class increases balance, flexibility and leg strength and will help prevent falls in the future. Classes are pretty reasonably priced (compared to pilates!). I have seen people who have done Tai Chi well into their 80s who look 20 years younger!
Watch out for slippery concrete drives and pathways - keep them water blasted.
Make sure steps are not slippery when wet - a covering of stair mesh will help give better grip.
If parents call your number last thing at night, they will only need to press the re-dial button if an emergency strikes in the night, and won't be struggling to remember a number in a time of stress.

Contributed by: Tessa R

Simple ideas to create a safe home for elderly

There are quite a few easy fixes around the home to keep elderly people safe:

Get a cordless phone with a big number keypad and pre-program important numbers.
Make a list of contacts, for example, a trusted neighbour with a key that can check on them if needed, their doctor and list of medicines and so on.
Place seats in strategic locations such as next to the phone, in the bathroom and bedroom.
Check handles and change to quality suction cup ones in bathroom and toilet and near stairs.
Remove mats and rugs that are trip hazards, along with putting on 'grip tape' (available from hardware shop) on stairs or slippery areas (don't forget outside).
Replace door handles and taps with lever-style.
Improve lighting to assist reading and general vision.
If they aren't very mobile you may organise for home delivery of groceries and medicines and a mobile hairdresser or alternatively organise for someone to pick them up for regular outings.

Contributed by: A K

Pharmacy helps the medicine go down!

Pharmacies offer a dose administration system where medications are packed into breakfast, lunch and evening doses according to the days of the week. Essentially it is a week's dose of medication that is current, easy to follow and easy to see if medications are being missed. The pharmacist can also help chase up scripts with GPs and even deliver the packs to homes. This system helps keep people in a better position to maintain their independence.

Contributed by: Jen

Remove trip hazards to prevent falls, inside and out

The most important part of staying in your own home is to remove tripping hazards, since a fall will cause serious injury. Look at each room with fresh eyes; remove rugs as they can sometimes curve up at the ends and check each doorway to see if one floor surface is slightly raised above another. A home handyman can usually put a small angled piece of wood near the door so that there is no chance of tripping. Most importantly, check the bathroom and toilet, adding hand rails where necessary.

The backyard is also a concern, since there may be paving which has moved over time. Lift up pavers and re-lay them so they are flat. Consider getting a reliable person to do their gardening or hire a service so they don't feel overwhelmed by all the jobs that need to be done. A small, raised garden bed can be very helpful to avid gardeners so they still feel connected to their outdoor area and, if possible, next to a place they can sit and enjoy a cup of tea.

Contributed by: Amanda Pope

8. This Month's Help Request: Getting Saucy!

Teena has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"My family loves sauce with their meals, all sorts of sauces! It occurred to me recently that I could be making my own for a fraction of the cost and they'd probably be tastier and have less sugar. So I'd love to ask fellow Simple Savers to 'get saucy' and share their favourite sauce, gravy and even chutney recipes - mint, tomato, BBQ, black sauce and so on. I'd love some tried and true recipes."

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Teena, please send them in to us here.

9. Goodbye, Goodbye

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for April and we'd love to hear how your $21 Challenges went and how you 'faced the waste' this month!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

April 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter

April 2021 Simple Savings Newsletter

Hi,

Happy Easter! We hope you get a well deserved break and your wallet doesn't take too much of a beating. To help you with your budget we have some easter tips and delicious recipes for you this month. But, before we share the joy of Easter we have some sad news.

The magnificent, wonderful and fantabulous Claire M has been unwell and was in hospital this month. Claire runs the monthly challenges in the forum, as well as categorising recipes and many, many other incredibly kind and loving things. If you have a spare five minutes can you please send a prayer, good thoughts or a short note in Claire's direction.

Claire is a fantastic person and hopefully she will recover soon.

*fingers crossed*

Fiona

Easter Challenge in Forum

Before Claire became ill she set up this month's Frugal Easter Challenge in the forum. If you would like to join in this month's Easter Challenge. It is a great thread with tasty recipes including my husband's favourite, Coffee Freckles. (THANK YOU CLAIRE!!)

/fora/4370589

Saving Stories

The Simple Savings forum and Facebook group members have been busy this month. Alana Kelly bought $158 worth of meat for $19.57.

And, KC from the forum saved up and bought herself a teardrop camper and annex to go camping in style! Woohoo!! Congratulations KC.

Easter Tips

Easter is an egg-cellent egg-cuse to eat an egg-straordinary amount of egg-stravangantly egg-bellished chocolate eggs and write sentences with really bad egg puns. But, that is not the only thing you can do this easter. Here are some other fun ways to keep your budget low.

Activity books for kids

A friend of mine has asked friends and relatives to give the children puzzle and sticker books instead of lots of chocolates for Easter. This is a wonderful idea that saves you money, the teeth of the children and the sanity of parents whose children go bonkers after all that sugar!

By: Rochelle Bax

Non-Easter Chocolate

A lot of the time, Easter Eggs are an expensive way to purchase chocolate. I always hunt for chocolate up and down the aisles of Big W or other shops and I buy NON EASTER chocolate. Which means other normal everyday chocolate and chocolate related products and not Easter Eggs. It's still all chocolate right? Doing it that way gives me more chocolate per gram for my dollar!

Printable Treasure Hunt

Problems with pets, ants and lost eggs inspired us to switch from chocolate eggs to printable eggs. We print out eggs, write clues on them and hide these around our house. During the hunt everyone collects up all their eggs in a basket and swaps them for chocolate at the end. It is a lot of fun and saves us from finding missed eggs six months later.

Easter Colouring Pages

There are loads of Free Easter Egg Image Printables and colouring pages online for everyone to have some colouring in fun. Just leave some colouring pencils out with your print outs in a spot at a table and see what happens!

Sandra's Recipes: Rocky Road and Easter Loaf

Of course Easter wouldn't be Easter without some chocolate. Rocky Road is easy enough for kids to help you make.

Traditional Rocky Road

Ingredients

100 grams (½ packet) of pink and white marshmallows

½ cup of macadamias or nuts you like.

½ cup of coconut

1 Turkish Delight Bar, chopped

30 grams of Copha

2 x 200gram blocks of Dark Plaistowe Cooking Chocolate

Method

In a large bowl put in 100 grams of marshmallows, which have been cut into halves with scissors.

Mix in the macadamias, coconut and Turkish Delight Bar together. Set aside.

Line a square 23cm x 23cm tin with foil.

Put the Copha into a small bowl in a microwave and melt it for 1 minute or so, until it is liquid. Set aside.

Break the 2 x blocks of chocolate into pieces and place into a bowl.

Melt in a microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds on high.

If it's not 100% melted then microwave it again for a further 10 seconds.

Take the chocolate out of the microwave, then add in the melted Copha and stir gently.

Pour a thin layer of copha/chocolate over the base of the foil lined tin.

Place the marshmallows, macadamias, coconut and Turkish Delight mix, gently over the chocolate base.

Pour the rest of the copha/chocolate over the ingredients in the tin, to cover them.

Put the Rocky Road into the fridge to chill until it is set. Store in the fridge.

Notes

Copha or Kremelta in NZ, makes the chocolate runnier and glossier.
Copha will last for a really long time in the fridge, when stored in a sealed container.
The chocolate was bought on special for $3 per block.

Peppermint Rocky Road

You can also very easily make other flavoured Rocky Road by using just a few ingredients as shown in the photo above.

30 grams of melted Copha

2 Blocks of x 220g Plaistowe Dark Chocolate, melted.

100 Grams (½ packet) of WHITE marshmallows

1 small bag of peppermint eggs, with the foil peeled off.

Foil lined 23cm x 23 cm tin

Method

Put a thin layer of Copha/Chocolate on the base of the lined tin.

Put the white marshmallows in the tin next.

Then put the peppermint eggs in whole.

Top with the remaining copha/melted chocolate mix and refrigerate until set.

Store in the fridge.

Notes

Some Caramel Eggs and macadamia nuts made a yummy combo!

We made some caramel and salted macadamia rocky road and used a tablespoon of organic coconut oil in place of the copha and it gave a lovely coconut flavour which would complement the traditional rocky road as well.

Extra tips

We also had this great chocolate melting tip sent via email from Carol J - thank you!

You can do this instead of using Copha if you'd like to...

'For every 100 grams of melted chocolate, add 2 teaspoons of light vegetable oil when melting it.

It helps the chocolate melt more easily without seizing, and best of all the topping won't crack when cutting the slice into squares.'

Easter Loaf Recipe

This recipe is a traditional Hot Cross Bun recipe, but it's been simply made into a loaf.

INGREDIENTS

350 mls warm water

1 tablespoon of oil

600 grams of plain white flour (or white bread mix)

2 teaspoon of yeast

1 cup of sultanas

1 tablespoon of mixed peel (optional)

1 tablespoon of mixed spice

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

( You can add some nutmeg and ground ginger if you wish )

METHOD

Put all of the ingredients in the order listed, into your bread machine and set to Basic Loaf and press start. This will produce an Easter Loaf without you needing to do anything else, except for putting crosses on the loaf or glazing it, if you wish to.

You can put the ingredients in the 'ingredients list' into a mixmaster with a dough hook and mix until you have a smooth ball of dough.

You can hand mix the ingredients together, until you have a nice smooth dough. That will give your arms a good workout.

Here is what you need to do, if you have used one of the alternative dough mixing options -

When the dough is mixed you can drop it into a baking paper lined loaf pan and shape it with your fingers to make a smooth loaf shape.

Set the dough aside, somewhere warm, and let it prove for 40 minutes. Which means it should rise and increase in size.

Then put the risen dough into a preheated oven set at 180 Deg C and bake it for 30 minutes. It should be cooked in the centre. You can test it with a skewer.

NOTES

This recipe is also suitable for making the round shaped Traditional Hot Cross Buns.

Simply cut the dough into the number of buns you would like to make in the size you'd like to make them, and make them into round shapes and put them onto a tray to prove and bake off.

You can make the PASTE for 'crosses' by using half a cup of flour and mixing 60mls of water together until it is smooth.

You can use a small plastic bag with a corner snipped off, or a piping bag if you have one, to pipe crosses.

Pipe the 'cross mixture' onto the buns AFTER they have risen, but before you bake them.

To finish the loaf, or Easter Buns off with a shiny glaze, make a glaze as follows -

Put ½ a teaspoon of Gelatine and 2 tablespoons of water mixed with 1 tablespoon of sugar into a small jug.

Heat in a microwave for 20 seconds.

Leave your loaf or buns in the pan they have been cooked in.

Brush the glaze, with a pastry brush ( or use a piece of baking paper as a brush ) over the loaf or buns while they are still hot. Enjoy!

A Beautiful Letter

One of the nicest parts about helping people is the fantastic letters we receive. They are so wonderful that we wanted to share the love with you. This letter is from Margaret.

Hi Sandra,

I so much appreciate receiving your monthly newsletters over the years and I have had many savings. Some things I didn't realise were my savings and just thought of as me being ikky with things.

Close to 40 years ago I bought a Caterers roll of Cling Wrap and I am still using this same roll.

I never use this to cover food if I have a container that I can open and close until the food is gone. Sandwiches and lunches always go in a lunch box, this is closed and stays fresh.

Likewise when we are asked to 'bring a plate' to an event or function this plate is put into a container with a lid and I very rarely use the cling wrap.

I probably use more baking paper than I need but this also saves time on washing up items after cooking particularly cakes and slices. Biscuits are baked on slide paper and it's used, again and again until I think it won't last another time.

I have a small bin in the caravan and line it with the used supermarket veggie bags, this is then easy to dispose of in caravan parks. At home I always used the grey shopping bags until they no longer became available (I even collected them when travelling to bring home) but still do use other shopping bags from hardware shops or pharmacies or wherever. I do fill the bin before putting it in the garbage but also only throw out genuine waste.

Many of our meals are made in bulk and frozen into plastic containers which we then either cryovac for easy travelling in the caravan or put into vacuum seal bags. This makes for easy meals after a day out sightseeing.

My washing powder I buy in a big bucket when it is on a good special then transfer to a smaller plastic container for the laundry and have only ever used less than half a scoop all the time. My idea is that a little goes a long way.

My Husband had got the gardening bug during Covid and it was hard sometimes to buy the seed because everybody had the same idea but we had some of mum's old seeds (she died 10 years ago) and tossed them in the ground, if they grew good if they didn't nothing was lost, but many did still grow even from the opened packets.

There are many more instances I could give about my frugalness but this is enough for now.

I have been a member of the vault over the years but have let this slip in the last few years with our struggles on the pension but I do enjoy reading about other peoples saving and how they go about it. Keep up the good work and keep the newsletters coming, they are inspiring on all levels.

Cheers, Margaret

Farewell for now.

Thank you for joining us for another newsletter.

We wish you and your family a very Happy Easter!

August 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - August 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Elbow Grease
September is Spick and Span Month!
This Month's Competition: Calling All Cleaning Sceptics!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: A Cleaning Frenzy
Best of the Vault: Squeaky Clean
Cooking with Mimi: Kidney Bean Kievs and Lemony Tuna Salad
Penny's Blog: Everyday Triumphs
Homeopathy Corner: Specialist?
From Last Month: Old Fashioned Floor Polish
This Month's Help Request: Life on the Move
Savings Story: Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain!
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye:-D

Hello,

How are you doing? It's Penny here, filling in for Fiona. You see, this month is Spick and Span Month and whilst Fiona is an unbeatable Miser Extraordinaire she does not profess to be a Cleaner Extraordinaire. In fact, she claims to be 'so useless at keeping her house spick and span' that she just didn't feel right contributing to a newsletter all about cleaning! What Fiona forgets, however, was that I still remember the first time I ever went to her house back in 2005. Not only was it spick and span but I didn't see a single commercial cleaner in sight; everything was completely natural and home-made. This is just what this newsletter is all about, so I think Fiona is better qualified for this newsletter than she realises!

Spick and span or not, we have both really enjoyed reading your letters this month. It's fantastic to see you succeed and overcome whatever challenges life throws at you.

"I'd like to thank you for all your ideas. I have gone from being in debt and not knowing how to budget to having food in the house, I make it from scratch and I do not waste a thing. I teach my seven-year-old niece how to cook and save when she visits and she is loving it. She is going home teaching her mother a trick too. I've gone from $30,000 debt (that's not my house loan) to $11,500 in three years but joining up with you I have saved much more and now I'm teaching my friend too. Thank you for all the help and keep it up." (Kathleen Nizeti-Panebianco)

"I do TRY to do the monthly challenges on the calendar; sometimes I am really successful, sometimes not so successful, but this month with the Free Food Challenge, I am confident I am fairly successful! I have been planting herbs from the bargain department of a nursery I visit and have been very pleased with the result, I have sweet basil, lemon basil, thyme, lemon thyme, parsley, garlic chives and oregano growing. When I cook up a casserole I pick a handful of each, chop them all up together and throw them into the pot; what a lovely flavour! Also, I have planted some potatoes and have about four different varieties and about 10 plants that are nearly ready for picking. Hopefully I will get at least a couple of kilos to stretch the budget!" (Ailsa Crane)

"I am thrilled. I will be completing a $21 Challenge week tonight with $9.00 still in my pocket. I just can't believe it. I have a family of four and we still have a freezer and pantry full of food. One of my boys is on a gluten-free diet so I thought I might struggle to provide him enough of his usual gluten-free food but it was fine. I have just lost my job. While I look for a new one, my job at home is to save the amount of my previous pay cheque each week so we are not out of pocket due to my job loss. I reckon I have saved $200 this week on food so I have saved more than my weekly pay this week. Thanks so much Simple Savings, you are a life saver. I am going to ask for a subscription to the Vault and a copy of your book for my upcoming birthday." (Jo Baily Gibson)

"I love this site! I lucked upon it about a month ago and tried the $21 Challenge. I spent a lot more than that for the week but made some big savings. I joined up as a member two weeks ago and have slowly been implementing changes to our grocery spending. Three days ago my husband arrived home with a bunch of red roses. I was a bit taken aback as it was out of character. He announced I had reduced the money we spend on food by over 30% in four weeks! Thank you Simple Savings. You guys are fantastic." (Caroline Wallace)

"Thanks, Fiona. I love your website and keep thinking that I would be saving $17 each year if I didn't re-subscribe but take a look at my budget goals and know that it definitely saves me a lot more than $17. It is very interesting to see what other people do to look after their families. A big thank you." (Michelle Ortiz)

Thank you for sharing your inspirational stories. We really appreciate every single tip we receive every week too, so keep sending them in. As well as helping other members to save money, you could also win yourself a free 12 month Vault membership (value $47) in our weekly Hint of the Week competition!

Before I go, check out Fiona's recent TV appearances! A Current Affair did a story on alternatives to buying meat and groceries at the supermarket. Watch Fiona in action as she shows how the experts shop smart, and meet her favourite butcher, Ian from Buderim Meat Hall here http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/money/8278643/how-to-save-thousands-on-groceries. Also, who remembers the 'Debt Street' story on Today Tonight? It featured a group of families who all lived in the same street - and were all in debt. Fiona and the SS team soon got them on the right track to reducing their debt but how are they all faring three years on? Find out if they are still managing to save money here! http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/latest/article/-/10060187/meeting-the-debt-challenge/

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Elbow Grease

'What have you been up to this time?' laughed Sally suspiciously as Hanna plonked a large, heavy box on her desk. 'Yet MORE bananas?!' 'No, not this time,' Hanna grinned. 'I had a huge clean up round the house this weekend with my own home-made cleaning products! It was so much fun. I got a little carried away though so I thought I would bring the extras in for you all to try. Come and have a look!'

The others quickly gathered around Hanna's desk, sniffing, spraying and sampling all the jars and bottles. 'What's this one? Eucalyptus Cleaning Spray - wow that smells really good!' 'Lavender Furniture Polish, just what I need, thanks Hanna!' 'Home-Made Laundry Liquid? You mean you can actually MAKE laundry liquid?' someone asked in amazement.

'You sure can! It's so cheap to make and lasts for ages. Honestly, they're all so easy. I got all the recipes from here,' smiled Hanna, waving a booklet. 'I printed off a copy for everyone if you're interested.' 'Ooh I'll have one! Does it have a recipe for elbow grease? I'm going to need a lot of that!' giggled Sally. 'Not with these cleaners you won't, Sal!' smiled Hanna. 'Take them home and give them a go - I bet you'll love them as much as I do!'

2. September is Spick and Span Month!

People are always impressed when you know how to make your own cleaning products. It's a fantastic skill to have and one which will save you money for the rest of your life! Unfortunately these days it is very rare. You're far more likely to find a spray bottle of 'Rainforest Splash' sitting on the average kitchen bench than a bottle of vinegar. Both bottles will do a brilliant job of getting your kitchen sparkling clean. However, your average 500ml bottle of 'Rainforest Splash' will set you back around $4.00, whereas a 500ml bottle of vinegar generally costs under a dollar. In addition, that same bottle of vinegar will last you around four times longer as you need to use so much less. This means, when you finally run out of your $1 bottle of vinegar, you would have needed to spend $16 to get the same amount of 'Rainforest Splash'. When you think about how many bottles of cleaning products like this the average household goes through in a year, the savings really add up.

Cleaning products are a huge industry - but think about it. Where did the manufacturers of today get the idea to add baking soda and orange oil to their chemical blends 'for added cleaning power'? From their old fashioned, non-chemical counterparts! So this month we want you to give them a go. Take control back from the supermarket and have a go at making your own easy peasy and effective cleaning products. After all, how much do you REALLY want to pay for water?

All the information you need to get started is right here, in this cleaning tipsheet.

OR if you are a Vault member you can take advantage of our fantastic 'Bumper Book of Cleaning Clues!'

Whenever Penny and Fiona give a library talk this is always the booklet everybody clamours after. Why? Because the recipes WORK. Because people want to save money and learn a new skill. Because they want to have natural products in their home and not have to worry about the baby getting hold of the toilet cleaner.

The cheapest way to feel really healthy and wealthy is to get your house spotless. Make everything shine. Making the home you live in look special makes YOU feel special. Give these recipes a go and you will never look back. They are so easy - and we promise you that cleaning with vinegar will not leave your home smelling like a fish and chip shop!

3. This Month's Competition: Calling All Cleaning Sceptics!

If you've never tried making your own cleaning products before, now is the time! We want to prove to everyone just how fantastic they are. So, take the bull by the horns, learn a new skill and you could win a cash prize at the same time! Choose a recipe (or more, as many as you like!) from our tip sheet or cleaning booklet, give it a go and share your experience with us. How well did they work? What was your previous opinion of home-made cleaning products? Has this now changed and if so, how? What was the best (or worst!) thing you discovered? There are cash prizes of $100 to be won for first prize and four runner-up prizes of $50 for the best stories. Happy cleaning - and don't forget to enter our competition here!

4. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members find it easier to source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a store, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you could be in to win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us, the better your chance of winning. This month's winner is Georgiou's Confectionery as nominated by Leah Howe****. Read her entry to see what makes them such a great example of a Hidden Gem.

Georgiou's Confectionery, 147 New Canterbury Road, Petersham NSW - www.georgious.com.au

Georgiou's Confectionery is a family business with a real family feel. In this Hidden Gem you are surrounded by all of your favourites, old and new, of confectionery and chocolate at unbelievable prices. With super specials on for Valentine's Day, Easter and Christmas this is definitely the factory outlet to visit to get inspired.

Georgiou's stock everything from old time favourites that my parents and grandparents used to have when they were kids, like aniseed chalks, to what I enjoyed as a kid - think sherbet lollipops and push-up pops - to everything new and international like Junior Mints, War Heads and chocolate liquors. Never short on the unusual confectionery items such as marzipan and carob, this Hidden Gem is a must visit.

I usually visit just because I feel like some Red Vines or Musk Sticks or to pick up a treat for my partner - such as $3.00 for a packet of Hershey's dark chocolate kisses, what an amazing bargain! But it is also a great place to pick up some fantastic birthday, Christmas and anniversary presents.

The owners are friendly and helpful and more than happy to talk about what's in stock and what's coming in.

Although it is a 1000 square metre factory outlet, the feel is of a warm, friendly corner store from that gorgeous time long ago when $0.20c bought you the most amazing array of lollies. Granted, these days you need more than $0.20c, but for $5.00 you can be walking away from Georgiou's with quite a variety of treats. They also have a free gift wrapping service!

Congratulations on being this month's winner Leah, and a huge pat on the back to Georgiou's for providing consistently outstanding customer service and value for money! You can enter your own Hidden Gems into our monthly competition here. Thank you and good luck!

5. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a cash prize of $100 each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog', and get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Simply Blessed (Mum of 9) for this extract from her blog Saving Pounds in the UK. As you might guess, she and her family live in England where they are currently enjoying summer - including lots of yummy summer food!

Celebrating Free Food Month - A Month of Strawberries!

I would like to share with you about some of our free food this month. We receive a weekly delivery of several crates of organic strawberries every year 'free' for a whole month! I realise that this is probably cheating a bit as I didn't actually do the hard work of growing, weeding and harvesting myself. However, I did start the process by providing the very first strawberry plant.

It all started in the 80's at the 'County Agricultural Show' (gosh that makes me sound really old) I was given some pocket money to spend at the show and I found two things that I was interested in spending my money on. One choice was a punnet of strawberries and a small pot of clotted cream and the other was a very healthy looking strawberry plant in a black pot. So I stood there looking at my money and thinking out the pro's and cons of them both. I could buy the punnet of strawberries and pot of cream for a nice tea for my parents and myself to share which would soon be forgotten about. Alternatively, I could buy the strawberry plant and give it to my green fingered dad to plant in our garden and enjoy the benefits of it year after year.

I chose to spend my money that day on the strawberry plant. Right, now all I had to do was carry it around with me at the show for the rest of the day, then take it on the bus with me until I got home. I still remember that day very well, trying not to let my precious plant get squashed and the smell of the fresh soil and of course, the scorching heat that I feared would wither it, and my 'friend', (who incidentally had spent all her money on a fresh hot crepe which was gone in a couple of minutes), was very obviously sniggering at the sight of me when she saw me sit on the bus with a pot plant sitting on my lap.

Finally, I got it home in one piece, hurray! I showed my treasure to my mum who was pleasantly surprised by my choice and I waited excitedly for my dad to come home from work. He finally came and I proudly showed him my new purchase for our family garden, he looked then he LAUGHED! He laughed and said; "One plant? One plant! We won't get many strawberries from one plant, we will have to go to the garden centre and get some more." I was a bit taken back at his reaction, I hadn't expected him to laugh but at least he planted it and we soon got several more plants to keep it company. The strawberries were really yummy and we had several meals from them that summer, with cream of course.

They were so successful that Dad bought more plants the next year and even more the year after, until we were planting a whole vegetable patch just with strawberries. They lasted us a whole month and we gave lots away to family or friends too, as we couldn't manage to eat them all. Some years my mother made strawberry jam and we always put some in the freezer for the winter months. So how do we get our 'free' strawberries I can hear you ask? I do apologise for waffling on so but the answer is of course, my dad!

My now elderly dad still grows his strawberry patch in the same tradition that I helped him start in the 80's. Only, now my mum has grown old and has dementia, so she is unable to make jam or even freeze the strawberries. There are far too many berries for the two of them to eat and they don't want to fill their freezer up with strawberries, so they give most of them to us. Our family of eleven manage to eat lots of meals for a whole month, with sugar and cream of course, but not just clotted cream, actually we usually have single or double cream as it is runny and goes further to feed a crowd. We also give some to my in-laws and we make pots and pots of yummy jam which lasts us for several months just for the price of the preserving sugar.

I am including some pictures so that you can see just how large organic strawberries can be. They are so much bigger than most of our supermarket ones here in the UK. In order to demonstrate some idea of scale I have put on a picture of the strawberry in a hand and another one of a smaller strawberry beside a huge one. Most of my dad's strawberries were very large, juicy and really yummy.

My young daughter also likes to show her creative side and did some art with some of the strawberries before we ate them!

Congratulations Simply Blessed, what a mouthwatering blog! To read more from them, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

6. Best of the Forum: A Cleaning Frenzy

Our Simple Savings members are wonderful at saving on expensive cleaning products by using their own home-made equivalents. Have a look at some of these excellent Forum discussions to inspire you to don your rubber gloves and hunt out those dusty and neglected nooks in your home!

Come clean with me, let's clean, let's clean away

Onwards and Upwards has had enough! After a run of bad luck her house is a bomb - but she has a plan to get back on track. Join in her cleaning mission and get your place up to scratch!
read more...

Home-made cleaner is the HOTTEST stain-remover around!

If removing stains from clothing is an ongoing and expensive battle, this thread is a must-read! Find out how you can save a fortune on super clean clothes.
read more...

Musty smell in wool

Marilyn loves everything about the gorgeous hand-knitted cardigan she's been given - everything except the musty smell that is. Fortunately our clever members come to the rescue with some tried and true tips!
read more...

Soapnut powder! Yep, powder!

Who needs harsh chemical soaps when you can have a natural alternative made from the soapnut fruit? Find out more about this wonder product in this interesting discussion.
read more...

Natural solutions

Whether you want to clean stained coffee cups or remove sticky tape from your wallpaper, you'll find a natural and effective solution to this and much more in this gem of a thread!
read more...

7. Best of the Vault: Squeaky Clean

Everyone loves the feeling of a sparkling clean house. This feel-good sensation is simply doubled when you use your own, home-made, chemical-free cleaning products. Here are some brilliant tips from our fantastic Vault to help you get your home spick and span in no time!

Clean cheaply using these nine products

For all my cleaning requirements, I use generic dishwashing detergent, methylated spirits, bleach and olive oil, as well as eucalyptus and lavender oils, a glass scraper, newspaper and steel wool. I don't spend a fortune on fancy and expensive cleaning items, and I can't calculate how much money this has saved me over 30-plus years of marriage.

These are my tips for cleaning various items in the house:

Oven cleaning - use steel wool and detergent. You might need to leave it on for a little while, but it will still clean well.

Furniture polishing - use olive oil and lavender (or your favourite oil). Apply with a soft cloth, leave for 10 minutes or so, then buff with another soft cloth (old singlets are great for this).

Washing floors - a small amount of detergent and methylated spirits will do the job - the spirits help the floors to dry quickly.

Cleaning windows - use hot water and methylated spirits. Once the window is dry, polish with crumpled newspaper. The printing ink makes windows sparkle.

Cleaning shower recess - a glass scraper removes soap scum from glass (it won't scratch). Finish with a quick wipe over with a scourer and soapy water and then rinse. Mould can be removed by spraying with diluted bleach. Rinse after five minutes.

Toilet cleaning - use diluted bleach. If stains are bad, full-strength bleach can be put into the bowl and left for a short while before brushing.

General cleaning - eucalyptus is an antiseptic. Add a few drops to hot water and wipe over bench tops and vanities for a nice fresh-smelling room.

The list of cleaning ideas goes on and on.

The initial total cost of ingredients would be no more than $20, depending upon where you shop. The detergent is the main item I have to replace. With the others, I use such a small amount that I usually replace them only every year or even less. For example, I have used only a quarter of the olive oil that I bought two years ago. Even though I have timber kitchen cupboards and hutch, timber display cabinets and a timber dining table, I don't need to use much to keep them looking good.

Contributed by: Sheila Longden

Steam clean your microwave - no chemicals required

A jug of water is all you need to clean your microwave. Place it in the microwave and set it to high for six minutes, then let the boiled water sit for 15 minutes in the microwave. The steam build-up will loosen all the grime, allowing you to simply wipe it away. No chemicals required!

Contributed by: Kerri Ahomiro

Common sense cleaning will save you buckets

Save hundreds of dollars in cleaning around the house!

Here are some fun, clever and interesting ideas to help you save on four precious resources - your time, your money, our power and our water - while still having a reasonably clean house.

You can easily tie in these ideas with the many great ideas already in the Simple Savings Vault, and the money you save each year can be used for rewarding family members, or saved up towards a special night out. You really will save if you do some, or all, of the following:

First, really lower your standards - if you clean the house once a week, go to once a fortnight. If you are already cleaning fortnightly, go to monthly. Don't feel bad about it either!
Don't be as fussy - there will be dust under the bed long after you are dead and gone!
Don't buy specialised cleaning products for every job - either go environmental (just use vinegar, bi-carb soda, methylated spirits or soda water) or choose a maximum of three cleaning products that will do all jobs. For instance, dish washing liquid will wash a tiled floor just as well as a specialised floor-cleaning product.
Always sweep patios and verandas with a broom - never use the water from a running hose to clean these areas. If you need to clean an outside area, use recycled water in a bucket.
Learn to dust as you go - use one of those polishing gloves or the sleeve of an old pyjama top, and dust as you talk on the telephone. Wooden furniture does not need to be highly polished every week or fortnight - buy a special wood polish if you need to, but make it last by polishing wood furniture only once every two or three months.
Make your own polishing and wash cloths by cutting up suitable old garments - pyjamas or nappies for instance. This saves on buying expensive products like Chux.
Always keep several small bottles of fizzy mineral water in the pantry for taking stains out of carpets. Much cheaper than stain remover!
Use home-brand cleaning products - but only if they perform as well as the brand-name products.
Tie in serious spring cleans around special events - involve everyone - offer rewards and incentives.
Encourage family members to 'clean-up' as they go - offer rewards or incentives to make this happen.
Assign children (if they are old enough) and your spouse one or two rooms (depending on age and work commitments) in the house each - rotate rooms for fairness -and make it their responsibility for cleaning and tidying these rooms using the saving ideas. Make this a competition, and offer rewards for the best room or rooms.
Do not wash bath towels and face washers every day - amazingly many people do - this is a big waste of time, power, cleaning products and, more importantly, our precious water! Have two sets of towels and face washers for each family member - mark with their name and assign one set to last for at least a fortnight. Make everyone responsible for hanging their own towels on the line, every day, to dry. Also, have at least one set of towels marked 'guest'.
In winter, change and wash the sheets/pillowcases on the beds monthly, in summer you might like to do it fortnightly - but weekly is definitely too often, unless special circumstances are involved.
Learn to iron only the real essentials - that is, the clothes that show - this saves on power, distilled water and ironing sprays. Never iron items like underwear, socks, pyjamas, sheets, pillowcases, bath towels, or tea-towels. Only iron tablecloths for special occasions.
Declare one day a week, a fortnight, or a month, as a bath/shower free day. Offer rewards for the family member who racks up the most shower free days over a period of time.
Only wash the dishes once a day, or every second day if you have enough dishes - learn to rack and stack 'em either on the sink or in the dishwasher.
If you are cooking or cleaning in the kitchen - fill the sink with a small amount of warm soapy water for washing your hands as you cook or clean.
Encourage everyone to wash hands using cold water - this can be a hard habit to break but it's worth it. Again, use rewards if you have to - until it comes naturally. This saves power and water - especially in winter, as the inclination to linger over the job vanishes if cold water is the only option!
Try to always clean using a bucket of water or recycled water - use buckets to collect the water used to get the shower hot enough or from running the kitchen tap to wash up. This fresh water is usually totally wasted! Never clean while running a tap.
If you are going to clean the bath - put the plug in while you shower and wash the bath with the water saved, before you get out of the bath!
Wash the car less often - once every three or six months say - and when you do, use buckets of water collected from the washing machine cycles. Don't buy expensive car washing detergent - dish washing liquid will do. And remember to park the car on the lawn and rinse quickly and sparingly with the hose or leave it in the rain to rinse!
Clean the wheely bin once or twice a year - save up the dregs of cleaning products, add recycled water - tip into bin and use an old broom (keep just for this) to scrub out - turn it upside down to drain.

You might find some of these ideas a little confronting, but common sense is the key and there will be times when some of these ideas will not always be applicable.

I am unable to determine exactly how much I have saved over the year, but I estimate I have saved between $300 and $500 on the cost of cleaning products, power and water by following these simple savers. Good luck!

Contributed by: Jennifer Lydon

Making cleaning a family activity saves $1560

We have turned cleaning our house into a family event, saving ourselves $1560 a year on paying a cleaner. We decided we would spend one hour every Saturday morning doing the cleaning. We sit down at a family meeting on Friday nights with our home-made pizza and draw the cleaning jobs out of two jars, one for the adults and one for the children. We have already decided to spend $560 on having fun family adventures over Christmas, and the rest will go towards a holiday. As the whole family will benefit, we are all committed to it.

Contributed by: Anita Stokes

Cleaning the shower can be a team effort!

I'm saving on time and frustration when cleaning my bathroom by enlisting the help of the whole family! Cleaning the shower has never been one of my favourite jobs around the house and the longer I leave it the bigger the job becomes. However, I've now come up with two ways of making the job SO much easier.

Instead of enduring the weekly nightmare of cleaning all the walls and floors of the shower I have broken this 'big' job into smaller parts. Because a shower usually has five surfaces (four walls and one floor) for five nights a week when I have my shower I clean one part. For four nights I clean one of the walls and on the fifth night I tackle the floor. I keep a sturdy brush and a bottle of Jif handy in the shower and just scrub away for a couple of minutes. Now the shower is always clean and I'm no longer exhausted!

Secondly, to keep the glass screen sparkling and free of watermarks throughout the week I've asked all family members to wipe the glass dry using their towel once they've finished drying themselves. (I've stuck a nice note on the outside of the screen to remind them which they see as they're about to step out of the shower!) It only takes seconds and the results are amazing. The glass is now sparkling clean!

The 'dry while in the shower cubicle' rule has also had the knock-on effect of keeping the whole bathroom in a much more respectable state because all our family members are drying themselves inside the shower cubicle. We now no longer have puddles all over the bathroom floor and soaking wet bathmats!

Contributed by: Galligina

Extra tips for Vault Members

Our loyal and valuable Vault members are a source of inspiration to us. They are an absolute goldmine of clever tips, ideas and hints to help us all really stretch our dollars further. We'd like to say 'thank you' for joining and helping us make Simple Savings such a fantastic resource. Here are some extra tips just for you!

Use baby oil to clean stainless steel Contributed by: Lisa Barchard

Citrus savings are sweet! Contributed by: Erica Wilson

Clean dishwashers with tartaric acid Contributed by: Robyn Dundas

Clean oven safely with washing soda Contributed by: Trish S

Acidic orange gives concrete a run for its money Contributed by: Joan Mancuso

Bright and white washing Contributed by: Kaye King

8. Cooking with Mimi: Kidney Bean Kievs and Lemony Tuna Salad

There are three things that I find in the back of my pantry every single time I do a pantry clean out. Tinned red kidney beans, tinned tuna, and rings of black, sticky stuff of unknown origin. I have no idea what this sticky stuff of unknown origin is, although I suspect someone pouring honey or golden syrup straight from the jar when they're in a baking frenzy, and neglecting to remove any stray gloops from the jar's edge, might be the culprit. Is that me? I'm not saying, but let's just say the evidence is incriminating given I'm the only one in the family that actually bakes!

Okay, so the rings are removed with some lovely home-made eucalyptus cleaner and the pantry contents are replaced faithfully. But heavens above, what's to be done with all those tins of beans and tuna?

Well, these Kidney Bean Kievs are mouth-wateringly more-ish, and will forever banish Kidney Bean Fear (KBF) at your house. Serve them up with some leafy greens and keep everyone guessing on the main ingredient. Shhhh... I won't tell if you don't!

Red Kidney Bean Kievs

Makes 6 substantial serves

Equipment:

Large non-stick frypan
Large colander (strainer)
Large mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl
2 small bowls, additional
Fork
Cling wrap
Plate for refrigerating the kievs
Food processor or potato masher
Thin egg slice/spatula
Paper towels or clean tea towels for draining the cooked kievs
Dinner plates for serving

Ingredients:

2 x 400g tins red kidney beans
6 slices bread
3 eggs
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, crushed or 1/2 tsp dried garlic granules
1 tsp smoky paprika
1 tsp dried onion flakes or one small onion, diced
Seasoning to taste
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
Oil for pan frying
Steamed rice and leafy vegetables to serve

Method:

Mix your butter or margarine with your garlic. Spread a sheet of cling wrap, about the size of an A4 page, on your bench. Pile the garlic butter into the middle of your cling wrap, and with the wrap around it, roll your butter into a little cigar shape. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pour your kidney beans and their liquid into your colander and rinse under running cold water until they stop foaming. Then put the colander full of beans on the sink to drain well for a minute or two. Once drained, put the beans into your food processor or large mixing bowl. Process or mash them thoroughly until they form a thick paste.

If you are using a potato masher, and not a food processor, you now need to cut your bread into teeny, tiny cubes with a sharp knife. This makes them easier to mash into your bean paste.

Add two of your eggs, your bread cubes or slices, smoky paprika and onion and mix it all well to combine. Use clean, damp hands in your bowl to really squish it and mould it into a smooth paste if you're not using a food processor. Season to taste.

Crack your last egg into one of the small bowls and add your fine breadcrumbs to the other. Beat the egg with a fork.

Set up your plate for refrigerating the kievs on the bench nearby.

Remove your garlic butter from the refrigerator, and cut it into six round discs.

Tip your bean mixture from the food processor into your large mixing bowl. Divide your mixture into six roughly similar sized balls and keep them in your bowl.

Take a ball of bean paste mixture in your clean, damp hands, and flatten into a patty the size of your hand. Take a disc of garlic butter, and place it in the middle of your patty. Then carefully mould your bean patty around the butter by folding the edges into the middle, and forming back into a burger like shape. Continue with your other bean paste balls until the mixture is used up.

Now take each of your patties, dunk them into the beaten egg, then into the breadcrumbs. Toss them around in the crumbs until they are thoroughly coated. Once they're all crumbed, you can pop the kievs into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, just to firm them up.

Heat your frypan over a hotplate heated to medium. Coat the bottom of the pan with oil. Pop the kievs in, and gently pan fry them, for about three minutes each side, turning once.

While your kievs are cooking, prepare your dinner plates for serving. I like to serve these with steamed brown rice and some beet or other green salad leaves.

Drain your kievs on some absorbent paper or a clean tea towel, and serve on your waiting plates.

The questions will come thick and fast... 'Mmm... what's this?'... 'Yummy, what's in these?'... 'Is this a new rissole recipe, Mum?'. You'll just give a Mona Lisa smile and keep that secret to yourself!

Lemony Tuna Salad

Now those tins of tuna are a bit trickier. I find that most times, unless I dress tuna up and call it 'chicken', nobody here wants to eat it but me! Thankfully this recipe comes to the rescue, often as a tasty lunch or light dinner, and has enough flavours other than tuna, that it's palatable for the whole family. It also uses up all those odds and sods from packets of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, so it's a real pantry cleanout winner! Be sure to make the extra effort with the presentation. As you can see, it's worth it!

Lemony Tuna Salad

Serves 4

Equipment required:

4 serving bowls
Citrus zester or sharp vegetable peeler
Sharp knife
Non-stick frypan
Small saucepan
Can opener
Sieve or colander
Small bowl
1 saucer
Juicer
Cup
Measuring cup
Jar with lid to mix dressing

Ingredients:

1 x 185g tin tuna
1 x 400g tin chick peas
4 handfuls leafy veg like lettuce, rocket or baby spinach
4 tbsp craisins (dried cranberries), raisins or sultanas
4 tsp pine nuts, pumpkin or sunflower seeds
4 eggs
1/2 cup hot tap water
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon
2 tsp sugar

Method:

Put the craisins or other dried fruit into your cup. Mix the hot tap water with the honey, then pour this over your craisins. This plumps them up, makes them super juicy, glossy and succulent and enhances the colour.

Zest your lemon with a zesting tool or skim the skin off, leaving the white pith behind, with a sharp vegetable peeler. You'll then need to slice the peel really thinly with your sharp knife. Set this aside on your saucer. Now cut the lemon in half and juice it, pouring the juice into your empty jar for the dressing. Add your olive oil, lemon zest and your sugar. Shake well to blend and pop it into your refrigerator to chill slightly while you assemble your individual salads.

Half fill the small saucepan with water and put it on your hotplate heated to high. Bring your water to the boil and gently lower the eggs into it. Reduce the hotplate to 'low' and boil your eggs for six minutes. Now have a clean bowl at hand. Remove your eggs with a spoon and pop them into your waiting bowl. Drain the boiling water from the saucepan, refill it with cold tap water and pop the eggs back in to cool them. This maintains the yellow of your yolks, preventing that greyish ring around the edges of the yolks when you slice them.

Open your tin of tuna and tip the contents into the sieve or colander. Stand it in the sink to drain well then tip it into your clean bowl.

While your eggs are cooling, toast your nuts or seeds. Have your saucer at the side of your stove ready to hold the toasted nuts. Then put your non-stick pan over a medium-high heat. Toss your nuts into the pan and stir them for about a minute until they're just starting to turn golden. Yum! I love the smell of toasted nuts. Sort of golden and toasty and warm all at the same time. Tip them out on to your saucer.

Now, all is at the ready, and you've had no more than 10 minutes of preparation. So it's time to make your salads. Peel your boiled eggs and slice them thinly with your sharp knife or use an egg slicer.

Drain your dried fruit and pop back into the cup.

Open the tin of chick peas and drain it as well.

Into your waiting serving bowls, pile a handful of fresh, crispy, green salad leaves. Make a little hollow in the middle of the leaves and spoon 2-3 dessertspoons of chick peas into each hollow.

Pile about 2 dessertspoonfuls of tuna carefully on top of the chick peas.

Sprinkle the juicy succulent craisins around the edges decoratively.

Arrange the sliced egg around one section of the salad, overlapping the slices prettily.

Top with the toasted nuts or seeds and drizzle with the tantalising lemon dressing.

Now, some of my family prefers an all-in approach with this dish, mixing it all together before hoeing in ravenously. I prefer to delicately pick and choose each flavour individually. But no matter how it's consumed, this could quite possibly be the dish that will make your family ask 'Please, is it tuna night tonight?'

9. Penny's Blog: Everyday Triumphs

August 17th

Have just checked the bank balance and it's not going to be an easy month, to be sure. With $770 due to come out in rates and $2000 in tax before the end of the month there's not going to be much left in the kitty to pay even the usual bills. On top of that, what with moving house last year I didn't receive a notice in the mail like usual to say that my car registration was due to expire. Hence it did - back in June. I use my car so little that I had no idea until I parked in town for 20 minutes at the weekend and returned to find some horrible council man had attached a $200 fine to my windscreen. I know there's never a good time but WHY do these things always happen when you're really trying hard to save?!

I was really surprised to receive so many messages of support and encouragement from SS members after my last blog. It was very humbling and hugely appreciated. I mean, I'm only human and I thought it far better to be honest than pretend to be perfect - but I know there are people who expect me to be and understandably so. Take Alex for example - 'You're Penny Wise for goodness sake! I mean, you should have like $40,000 just sitting in the bank or something!' he berated me the other day when I admitted to getting declined. True, very true, and for a long time I did indeed enjoy the luxury of a nice, healthy looking bank balance. But then we bought a house - a more expensive one than the one we had, AND accepted a $100,000 drop on our own asking price. That sort of thing kind of eats up your savings. And, when you don't have any savings left and then go swanning around for a month or two like Lord and Lady Muck you soon find yourself up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

I'll admit, I'm kind of worried. I don't know if we'll be able to hold things together this month without going into overdraft - and if we do, by how much? I'm almost too scared to fill in my Bill Payment System to see! But sticking my head in the sand is not going to make it go away. We have to know what we're dealing with. And we have a good relationship with our bank. We have an exemplary record and I know they would help us if we asked. But I would really rather not have to, so let's hope it doesn't come to that. On the positive side I am REALLY enjoying pulling out all the saving stops! To be honest I thought I was already pretty conscientious at most of the everyday stuff but it's so easy to save much more when you really make a conscious effort. Every cent I don't spend, every light I switch off, every squashy apple I turn into apple muffins feels like a wee triumph. The savings are everywhere! OK, so the bank balance may not be looking the healthiest but at least I know I am doing my utmost to prevent it from dwindling any further, which makes the situation a little less bearable. It gives me great comfort to know that all these little extra things we're doing are really helping us to keep more money in the bank. Imagine what sort of state we would be in if we didn't know all these extra tricks!

One saving area I have been sadly neglecting is making my own cleaning products. Which is dreadful really because I've been doing it since 2004 so why stop now? No excuses really - if anything, just out of laziness. I remember when I stopped though, it was when we moved. Things were so hectic that when we arrived at our new place and I was cleaning up a storm I told myself it was easier just to go and grab a few cleaning products from the supermarket than take the time to make them. Excellent logic, Penny! Making them in your own home where all the ingredients already are takes approximately two minutes, yet you thought it was easier to get in your car, drive to the supermarket, spend a small fortune on chemical cleaners which smell so artificial and overpowering you have to vacate the room, queue up at the checkout and drive home again. Better still, you kept doing it for the next NINE MONTHS?! Sometimes I do have to wonder what planet I'm on (Noel stop nodding your head please, I know you are as you're reading this!).

So no more stinky bought cleaners for me. Best of all, I didn't even have to go out and buy anything whatsoever to start making my own cleaners again; everything I needed was already at home. It's back to my home-made 'spray n wipe' for the kitchen using a squirt of washing up liquid, a couple of teaspoons of baking soda and a few drops of whatever essential oil I feel like in a spray bottle filled up with water. For the bathroom, toilets and laundry I love the 'home mixed household cleaner' which to this day is one of the most popular all time SS tips with its lovely fresh smell and unbeatable cleaning power. Floors get washed with hot soapy water and a dash of methylated spirits in the bucket. Forgive me for sounding a bit weird but they feel like old friends after all this time! At least tea tree smells like tea tree and eucalyptus smells like eucalyptus and lemon smells like lemon. In comparison, after moving to the beach I can categorically say that the bright blue 'Ocean Breeze' stuff you get in a bottle (and to my shame I was using) smells absolutely NOTHING like a real ocean breeze!

August 2011

10. Homeopathy Corner: Specialist?

Fran is both a brilliant homeopath and a brilliant teacher. She regularly does seminars explaining how homeopathy works and one of the questions she is regularly asked is; do homeopaths specialise in certain fields? Are there fertilty homeopaths, digestive homeopaths or autism homeopaths?

In this month's article Fran answers this question in detail. To read it go to:-

homeopathyplus.com.au/monica's-story---my-weird-symptoms

11. From Last Month: Old Fashioned Floor Polish

Last month Denise asked: "Does anyone have a good old fashioned recipe for floor polish?"

This request proved somewhat of a tricky one! It seems these kind of recipes are few and far between; however, we hope the suggestions below will be helpful to Denise and anyone else wanting to give old fashioned floor polish a go!

The secret to a bee-yootiful floor!

For a real old fashioned style floor polish, try using beeswax. It's slow going, but it works!

Contributed by: Kaylene Holmes

Make your own floor polish

Ever wanted to make your own old fashioned floor polish? Give this recipe a go! Use this polish on resilient floor coverings - it dries to a shine without buffing and isn't as slippery as a waxed floor.

This recipe makes around a litre:

910ml denatured alcohol - to make it 'keep'
4 tbsp gum Arabic
60ml turpentine or white spirit
16 tbsp orange shellac

Place all the ingredients in a bucket and stir until the gum Arabic dissolves. To use, wash the floor and then apply the polish with a cloth, sponge or mop. Leave it to dry for 30 minutes before walking on it. After 2-3 applications, strip the old layers off with hot water and detergent and start afresh. Store the polish in a tightly covered jar.

Contributed by: Julie B

Give hardwood floors a lick of Tung

You don't actually state the type of floor but if it is hardwood I would recommend Tung oil. It is a bit expensive but gives a nice sheen without being slippery.

Contributed by: Rodney Munro

Easy floor polish recipe

This simple recipe for floor polish comes from the website http://www.guvswd.org/recipes#wood

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
10 drops essential oil (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and apply to floor, then wipe clean. Easy!

Contributed by: Samantha Moon

12. This Month's Help Request: Life on the Move

This month Lynley asks:

"I am a single lady, just myself and my small dog. I am looking at buying and living in a 7m bus, I am too young to retire and want to explore my own country while still working at my chosen profession - funeral director. Do any of your readers/contributors live in mobile homes or buses and how do they cope, particularly if they are not staying in one place? Just a thought as this is quite an inexpensive way to live but you don't have the luxury of ground to plant a garden."

If you have any tips or suggestions which can help Lynley, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain!

The best tip that I would give Simple Savers is actually very simple and seems obvious at first. Become a fully paid up member and read other members' blogs! I know that we can get a lot from this site for free, as I also did at first before I finally opened my wallet. There was nothing to lose as the promise is there to get your money back if it isn't right for you. I can testify that it is well worth the money to join Simple Savings as a member because it not only gives you advice but is a key motivational tool.

I joined the members' blogosphere here in early July and I just love sharing things with other members that I have found save money - but even more to read other people's findings too. We are a proper community that has something in common and we leave encouraging comments or useful tips and advice on each other's posts. It is the first thing I look forward to in the morning when I switch my computer on and the last thing I check in the evening when shutting down for the night.

It doesn't matter how many books or tips you read or how great your goals are, if you can't put it into action and keep it up long term you will just give up and feel bad. Motivation is needed and that comes from within you but you will more than likely need support from other human beings. Who better to help than other Simple Savers who are trying to do the same thing that you would like to do and are actually succeeding!

The tips in the Vault are great, I still haven't read them all but have read many of them. I will keep reading them, as and when I have some spare time, as it is worth it. You never know when the perfect tip for your situation will come up.

The Savings Forum is great too. I look in there every day and add to threads and have even started a few - it's great fun and very relevant to our situations. We cried with The Wez's when they lost their baby girl and we rejoice when people manage a 'no spend' month, pay back their debts or buy a house. It is good to share life with friends.

Simple Savers are a community and we all need each other. If you join, you will enrich our lives too, as well as being supported and motivated by us. So that is my tip, to 'join Simple Savings as a fully paid member and use the facilities here to your advantage'. If there are any members who have paid but don't regularly use the site I would like to encourage you to try it again; read the tips, visit the blogs and look at some recent threads in the Forum because that is what you are paying for. :-)

Contributed by: Margaret White

14. So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye :-D

Wow! Didn't we manage to cram a whole bunch of money saving ideas into this month's newsletter? I hope you really enjoyed it and have been inspired to try something new.

I am always keen to receive your feedback about the kinds of things you want to see more of in the newsletter and those things you would rather we leave off. Drop me a line next time you're on our website. If you have enjoyed this month's newsletter, why not forward it to your friends to help them save money too? Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page?

Best of luck with your Spick and Span challenge. See you next month!

All the best,
Penny :-)

August 2013 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - August 2013

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Here's to a Mixed Salad!
Take a Garden for a Test Drive!
Penny Wise: Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back
Best of the Vault: Home Grown
Best of the Forum: Spring is in the Air!
Best Members' Blog: And Then the SS Way of Life Just Clicked...
Hidden Gems: Logan Food Gardeners
Cooking with Mimi: Chilli Con Carne... Make it Light and Fresh With Greens From the Garden
Claire’s Corner: Cashing in on the Spring Clean
50c Indulgences: Acres of Diamonds
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Prepping the Patch for Spring

Hello,

How are you going? Here is your August newsletter. What happened to July you may ask. It is [ducks for cover] still on its way. If you would like to find out what the mysterious new project is, drop in to the Simple Savings Forum where members are busy testing it ahead of the big launch.

We also love receiving your emails and Facebook messages. Here are a few of this month's favourites:

"Just when I think I have read, and tried, every money-saving tip, Simple Savings surprises me once again." (Jayne)

"I've just renewed for another year – keep up the great work." (Anne)

"Just wanted to thank you for all the great tips in the Vault. I needed to buy some new dog flea treatment but thought I'd have a look in the Vault first and found a number of great hints to try – natural and inexpensive. Thank you!" (Lee)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. You can now use PayPal in Ye Olde Shoppe and to renew your Vault subscription.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Here's to a Mixed Salad!

"Good grief, haven’t seen you in gumboots for a while!" Pete stopped in his tracks at the sight of his wife. "What’s the occasion?" "I’m getting out in the garden this weekend. I’ve decided it’s high time we grew more of our own food. Do you know, when I went to Hanna’s yesterday, she was literally just grabbing things out of the garden as we were chatting, then just threw it all together for lunch? I want us to be able to have that too, Pete," Sally explained.

"Hey, no arguments from me!" said Pete. "I think it’s a great idea!" "It will be good to have a project I can really get my teeth into," said Sally. "I’ve got tomato, cucumber, zucchini – even a few seed potatoes to plant!" "Good on you, Love!" Pete grinned. "Would you like me to make you a couple of trellises for your cucumbers and tomatoes to grow up? I’m sure I’ve got some stuff in the shed that might do." "Oh thanks, Love, that would be great!" Sally beamed. She couldn’t wait to get started!

Pete returned a while later with his recycled masterpieces. "Here you go!" he said proudly. "Where have you planted them?" Sally looked around the patch of freshly sown dirt. "Oh heck!" she thought to herself, "I don’t know!" She had been in such an excited hurry to plant everything she forgot to mark each row as she went! Sally took one look at Pete’s excited face and did the only thing she could think of – lie through her teeth. "The cucumbers go over there and the tomatoes there," she pointed randomly. "But I don’t think we’re supposed to put the trellises in yet. We have to wait for the seeds to sprout," she said knowledgeably. "Whatever you say, Sal," Pete smiled. "My wife, a professional gardener! Who would have thought?"

2. Take a Garden for a Test Drive!

Sal might need to work a bit more on her garden know-how, but her enthusiasm is right up there! Sometimes that is the hardest part of any new project; getting motivated. You want to start a garden but the thought of deciding on your patch, making your garden beds, getting manure and deciding what to plant is just too much. It's not that you're not enthusiastic; you just need a bit of inspiration to get you going. Well, we have the perfect way to inspire you – take a garden for a test drive!

Now this doesn't mean putting on camouflage make-up and commando-crawling round your neighbour's pumpkin patch in the middle of the night – because that would be creepy – but we DO have something much more friendly and practical in mind. It's called Community Gardening. A community garden is a garden started and maintained by a group of people who want to share their love of gardening with their community. The first Community Garden started in Melbourne over 30 years ago. Since then, hundreds of groups have found a patch to call their own and started sharing their knowledge with others. Community gardens are a fantastic way to get a bit of dirt under your fingernails and see what all this gardening fuss is about. You don't need to take anything with you but your curiosity, a Thermos and maybe some bickies to share!

Besides the warm fuzzies you get from being part of a community group, community gardening is a perfect way to try out gardening for yourself. It is a fantastic way to meet gardening gurus who can guide you and teach you about gardening first-hand. Community gardens are perfect if you're renting, living in a unit or just don't have the space or ideal spot for a garden. They are wonderful if you are concerned about the upfront expense of building your own garden beds, which can be quite expensive. If time is an issue in your life, community gardening is a perfect way for you to get a bit greener without worrying about fitting planting, watering and maintenance into your busy schedule.

Community gardens are a fantastic resource for first time gardeners who want to learn more. Not only will you have new green friends to help you on your way, many community gardens have workshops and special events where you can pick up even more knowledge. Throw in the possibility of seed-sharing and making new friends – well, it's just a bit irresistible isn't it!

To find community gardens near you, just Google 'community garden' and your location – many are run by councils, community groups, co-ops and so on and it may take a bit of 'digging'. Ask around as well. Can't find one? Start your own: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3592912.htm

3. Penny Wise: Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

Wow, I can't believe it's already been a whole month since we moved house! I have to admit, reaching the month milestone was a fantastic feeling. I guess my confidence is still a little shaky from the bank debacle - and there are always people out there who think you are doomed to fail. For the first month I was so terrified I was going to run out of money, I almost had a panic attack every time I spent anything. I lost count of the sleepless nights I had, worrying how I was going to pay this and that. Finally I plucked up courage to check my bank balance and almost fell over to discover I had a lot more money in there than I thought. What a profound lesson Penny - if you don't spend anything it actually stays in your account! Not bad, especially after both my boys' birthdays falling in the same month too!

For a couple of days I was on Cloud Nine. I was a home owner, a she-warrior, a financial whiz! Not only had I got through the first month, I even had savings! I allowed myself to get a little complacent, took the boys out for the day and bought Ali some new shoes, which was a big mistake because the very next day - BANG - in just two bills I was $3000 down. I thought that my legal costs had automatically been taken out by my solicitor at the time of settlement. They hadn't so it was a big shock to receive a bill for more than $1400 that I now had to find! In addition, when I checked my bank balance on the 14th of the month, I believed that my first mortgage payment had already come out on the 8th as was originally scheduled, so it came as another big shock to realise that it hadn't. The bank had moved my payment date to the 26th of the month without telling me. All of a sudden things were not looking quite so rosy - and there were still so many bills coming up!

So, as successful as the first month was, the second is going to be an even tougher challenge. The boys are great, they understand how it is. For the first time I'm really seeing the value of No Spend Month on a personal level and this is what we are going to have to do. I am so, so happy that I have all my Simple Savings skills to help me because it's these that are going to get us through and I am looking forward to making the most of them. I'm very fortunate that I have taken over a garden already full of food, with more to come and this is going to be a huge help. Currently I have lettuces, silverbeet, carrots, strawberries, tamarillos, oranges, lemons, lemonades, mandarins and enough parsley and rosemary to give to the whole town! Ali has always been interested in growing things. When he was tiny he grew tomatoes which were so delicious my friends used to pay him for them! But that was a long time ago and now he has taken on the position of Chief Gardener for the three of us, we both have a lot of learning to do! I'm looking forward to it - if only it would stop raining!

There are plenty of areas we can still improve, such as power. Being the hippy I am, I try and keep the lights off as much as possible once the dinner dishes are done and rely on my salt lamps for lighting at night instead. I've no idea how much it saves but it FEELS more economical! Plus they add a wonderful cosy feel to our little house at night that somehow brings us all together. Liam used to sit upstairs in his room all night but now we all hang out in the lounge together talking and laughing and watching movies and it's lovely. But I need to stop leaving the TV on as background noise to 'keep me company' when I'm working during the day! And getting washing dry in the weather conditions we've had since we moved is pretty much impossible. I've honestly managed to get no more than two or three loads dry naturally in the last five weeks! So frustrating having to use the dryer all the time, not to mention expensive. At the last house I used clothes horses with great success but this house is too compact to use more than just one small one without being a very risky fire hazard! It doesn't help that the washing line isn't in the best place, being stuck down the side of the house where no sunlight seems to reach. Things just HANG there, day after day! In the end I got fed up and bought a length of washing line and strung it up in a better place. Now it just needs to stop raining!

And then there's the age old issue of me just being plain old disorganised. I dread to think how much this dastardly trait has cost me over the years - but I have found something that helps! I had an epiphany at 4.30 the other morning while lying awake convincing myself I had no money. I was wondering how to remind myself how not to forget something important in the morning and it dawned on me - why didn't I download a free shopping list app for my phone? Surely there had to be one? Quite a lot more than one I discovered! I just chose one from NZ supermarket Pak and Save and this works really well for me. Because I'm never without my phone I can instantly add things as I remember them, no more forgetting to write things down or going out and leaving my shopping list still on the fridge! But a great bonus I've found is that not only does it stop me forgetting what IS important, it also helps me to evaluate what ISN'T important. Every time I have to make a trip to town now, I consult my phone list to ensure I'm making the most of my trip - and nine times out of ten I end up wiping off items that I thought were important at the time but on revisiting them, realise they actually aren't important at all!

So I guess you can say I'm trying my best and hopefully my best will keep on getting better. Oh, before I go I must show you one saving I'm rather proud of! Our town has a great 'Buy, Sell, Swap' group on Facebook, which I keep a close eye on. I was looking for a small table to go by the front door but didn't want to spend too much. Then a few days ago I saw a rusty old style telephone table come up. I wouldn't normally have looked twice at it, but something in the way the seller said 'Would look brilliant if it was done up!' made me perk up my ears. The table was only $12 but for me it was a risky purchase. I am the world's least arty-crafty person and the chances of this project going horribly wrong were extremely high! Still, I figured it was pretty hard for this potential piece of scrap to look much worse than it already did, so I handed over $12 and went ferreting in the shed for a can of black spray paint I knew I had. And whaddya know, it WORKED! In just one hour, I had transformed it into something I absolutely loved! Even Liam, who on seeing it said 'What the hell did you buy that for?' saw the new improved version and said 'Wow, that looks awesome, Mum!' Praise indeed from my cynical teen!

Here it is before:

graphics1

And after!

graphics2

I reckon that was $12 very well spent! But even so, that was before I was $3000 down. Now the pressure is really on to save harder than I ever have before!

You can now read Penny's blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page or in our Members' Blog section

4. Best of the Vault: Home Grown

Watching something grow is magic, and you don't have to be a Greenfingers OR a magician to make it happen! There are some wonderfully easy ways to get some greenery into your life so why not try some of the tips we've 'weeded' out of the Vault!

Grow your own herbal teas

I am saving heaps on delicious herbal teas by growing what I need to make my own! I love drinking herbal teas but I have found over time they can be quite costly, and more expensive than normal black tea. A closer look at my favourite tea bags revealed that all that is in them is dried herbs! So I planted a few of my favourite herbs in the garden, dry them, and use them in boiling water to make my own herbal teas. Here's how I make some of my favourites:

Chamomile Tea -

Pick the flowers of the chamomile plant, about two tablespoons, and infuse them in a mug of boiling water for five minutes. Strain into a mug and enjoy!

Peppermint Tea -

Pick about two tablespoons of peppermint leaves, and infuse them in a mug of boiling water for five minutes. Strain into a mug - delicious!

This same process applies to all fresh herbs that you would normally have in herbal tea. If you prefer to dry your herbs after picking them, use only half a tablespoon of the dried herbs. So much cheaper than bought tea bags and far more rewarding too!

Contributed by: Christine Croce

Grow your garlic

You know how expensive garlic is! Do you know that you can have enough garlic for the year if you follow this method? Buy a whole garlic bulb cluster from the supermarket, place it in a glass and fill till it covers half the bulb, wait four days for it to show a green shoot, break it up into individual cloves and plant in your garden. Wait till it falls over and you can even leave it in the ground till you want to use it. Saves you so much money. You can dry it, preserve it in brine or add it to your favourite preserves.

Contributed by: Catherine H

Shallots that last a whole year

I now buy only one bunch of shallots (spring onions, scallions) a year. As soon as I buy a bunch, I cut about 2.5 cm from the bottom of the bunch - the part with the roots on it. I then plant the roots either in the garden or in a couple of pots, and just snip off as much as I need for my fried rice, garnish curls and so on. They need very little water and will keep on growing throughout the whole year.

Shallots range in price from just under $1.00 up to $2.79. I used to buy one bunch at least every fortnight. Sometimes you can pick up a limp bunch from the reduced grocery section for around $0.30c. Plant the roots of these as soon as possible.

Contributed by: Liz Spencer

Tips for summer garden savings

I'm trying to grow more food this summer, here are a few of the things I'm doing to help save money along the way:

Instead of buying expensive packets of seed and plants, I used saved seeds from last year to propagate runner beans, dwarf beans, chillies and tomatoes. I planted them in recycled trays from last year using a small bag of seed raising mix.
A tip I got from a gardening blog - soak blue peas (green peas) in water for 24 hours. Fill a wide shallow tray with potting mix and sprinkle over the soaked seeds then cover with a layer of seed raising mix. Pea shoots will grow within days. Then, just cut them off with scissors as you need them in stir-fries, salads and so on.
Use stems from shop-bought watercress and ong choi (an Asian vegie) to propagate new plants in pots. They grow very fast and are delicious in stir-fries and soups.
Buy $1.00 or $1.50 six-packs of lettuce every three or four weeks and plant them. You will have a constant supply of lettuce for the entire summer for about $1.00 a week. Snip off the leaves as you need them. Even if you don't have a garden, you can grow lettuces in pots, grow bags or hanging baskets. It's even cheaper if you propagate your own from seeds!
Recycle containers whenever you can. I make grow bags out of old rice bags.

5. Best of the Forum: Spring is in the Air!

Spring is here! This beautiful time of the year brings beautiful weather and with it, new life – so get out there and start enjoying nature at her best! Here are some great discussions about getting 'green' this time of the year...

Mulching with shredded paper – advice please

It's cheap and easy mulch available to everyone – here are some tips.
read more...

Where can I buy a suitable marker for outdoor plants?

Don't do a 'Sally' – know what is where!
read more...

Broccoli not producing

Simple Savings members have answers for everything!
read more...

Community Garden at Mango Hill

Some more community garden ideas.
read more...

6. Best Members' Blog: And Then the SS Way of Life Just Clicked...

This month's winner is Tinker for her blog on finally 'getting it'!

I came to SS a few years ago with around $28k in personal debt that my DH and I had carelessly accumulated. After reading this site and seeing how far people could stretch their money I went like a bull at a gate to lower our debt. Whilst this started working (went from $28k to $8k) the mindset in our household hadn't changed so we were inevitably on our way back to a downward spiral. I fell off the wagon and we put another $5k on the credit card and added $5k to our personal loan for renovations. Oh, and bought a $1k lounge on interest free.

I could never figure out why we couldn't get ahead - ridiculous I know. There we were with expensive take away in our hands, surrounded by new furniture and brochures for holidays we couldn't afford in front of us saying, "How are we going to pay the rates?"

I had my DD and through cabin fever, boredom, wanting to expand my mind from "What time did I last feed? What time is it now? When was the last time I showered?" I ordered a copy of the Tightwad Gazette. WOW. What a fantastic read. It changed my whole way of thinking about money. I then read books like "The Story of Stuff" and "G Magazine" and started to change my way of thinking in regards to the environment and consumerism. After my brain going into overdrive with excitement and motivation I jumped back onto SS and got hooked on the threads that KEEP me inspired on a daily basis.

We have been living differently for around a month now and I don't feel deprived - I feel inspired. I love to look for things second hand now before we buy anything new. Why put more pressure on the earth's resources for new things, put old things in landfill and waste money when you can pick up beautiful things second hand if you wait/search for the right thing? Just recently my second hand list comprised of dresses, kids’ clothes, dining table and chairs and a beautiful hutch. I wanted a feature wall of photos so I went to the op shop and purchased a bunch of frames in different shapes and sizes and came home and sprayed them all with black spray paint, put pics in them and hung them in a jumbled pattern on the wall. It looks amazing and only cost me around $20 for 13 frames that cover a good chunk of the wall.

I also want our kids to grow up appreciating things. I did a big cull of my DD's toys and will take the overflow to the op shop. DD3 hasn't even noticed the cull. She had so many toys it was out of control - 99% given to her from family and not us. I have stressed to people that I want this Christmas to be a simple one. It's insane in my eyes to give a 3yr old bags and bags of presents. She will be opening one and already looking at what's next. That isn't how it should be. I want her to appreciate every present she receives. I have a feeling I have my work cut out for me on this one.

So this is my first ever blog and it feels great to write this all down. I really feel like I've turned a corner personally and I'm feeling quite chuffed. Thank you SS land :)

Well done Tinker – keep up the great work! You can read more of our members' blogs here.

7. Hidden Gems: Logan Food Gardeners

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members source the best deals in their area. This month's Hidden Gem is Logan Food Gardeners as nominated by Julie Faint.

As part of the Logan Food Gardeners' online community group, you can go to Crop Swapping Groups which happen every couple of months. This is where members get together and either purchase or swap home grown produce. It's brilliant as you can collect fresh home grown produce and also off-load surplus produce that you've grown. There are similar groups in all capital cities and membership to most of them is free.

A good tip is to price fresh produce realistically and also be prepared to swap items, and check what items each Crop Swap sells before you go.

Website: http://www.loganfoodgardeners.org/
Contact: mail@loganfoodgardeners.org

Well done Julie on locating such a fantastic hidden gem and thanks so much for sharing.

8. Cooking with Mimi: Chilli Con Carne... Make it Light and Fresh With Greens From the Garden

It's almost that time of year when we put aside the warming dishes we've enjoyed through winter and embrace the fresh, crisp salads of spring.

But just before we do, I've made over our favourite Mexican meal and lightened it up with fresh herbs and crunchy green vegies. This is served without corn chips, rice or sour cream, making it a health conscious alternative to the usual Mexican fare.

Herbs and vegies like capsicum, chilli, and tomatoes are easy for even the garden novice to grow, and this dish makes good use of these and a couple of other herby favourites, so plant a few kitchen garden basics and you're off and running!

Mimi's Fresh and Green Chilli Con Carne

Serves 6-8

You'll need:

Cooking spray
1kg mince (any kind)
1 red capsicum, deseeded and chopped
2 onions, peeled and chopped
6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
1 tin beans or bean mix, drained and rinsed until it stops frothing
2 large red chillis, deseeded and sliced finely
3-4 large fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 beef stock cubes
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp smoky paprika
1 1/2 cups water

To serve:

A handful of snow peas or green beans, topped and tailed
A couple of stalks of fresh coriander

Then just:

Spray a large frying pan or wok with the cooking spray and heat over a medium-hot hotplate.

Once hot, add your diced onions, stirring for a minute or two until they turn translucent. Add your mince to the pan. Break it up with a spoon and brown it well.

Remove the pan from the hotplate, and drain the liquids and fat carefully. Return it to the heat.

Add all of the other ingredients except for the snow peas and fresh coriander. Don't be frightened of the cocoa. It adds colour and a depth of flavour in much the same way as fish sauce to Thai food, or anchovies to Italian. It won't make your chilli taste like chocolate, I promise! Just make sure it's unsweetened cocoa and not drinking chocolate.

Stir well to combine and reduce the heat to very low. Allow the chilli con carne to simmer, until most of the liquid has disappeared. Stir regularly to prevent it sticking to the pan.

Taste test and add salt and pepper if you wish.

Serve in bowls, garnished with the snow peas or green beans.

Absolutely delicious and a real taste of spring.

Yum!

You can discover more of Mimi's creations on the Simple Savings Facebook page.

9. Claire’s Corner: Cashing in on the Spring Clean

Dear Summer… I know that last time we spoke I was all like ‘Leave me alone, you’re smothering me. I need a change. It’s not you, it’s me.’ But I’m sorry. Truly I am. Come back, I’ve changed, I’m cold… I miss you! I just want to feel your warm embrace once more!

Ha. Ever have one of ‘those’ winters when you promise that no matter how hot it gets this summer, you’ll love every moment of it and not complain once about it being too hot! We had an absolute corker last summer. But it really did get too hot with the green hillsides turning brown and the poor animals all desperate for water. By March we were all complaining. However, after standing at the bus-stop in the rain day-in-day-out (and forgetting my umbrella far too often), I am ready to ditch my jacket, boots and wintery scarves to feel the sunshine on my face again!

Every time I walk past my kayak (which sits outside, woefully unused) I get wonderful flashbacks of being out on the water last summer (I kayaked for the first time ever in my life about this time last year… and was hooked!). I can’t wait to get into it again. But we’ve decided we need to get a second kayak (a double) for hubby and daughter. Unfortunately, as the trees round here refuse to grow money, we’ve had to put our thinking caps on about how to raise the funds. But after another weekend of lecturing the kids about cleaning their rooms, it came to me. Time for a spring clean/sell off!

My youngest is at that age where she now has toys and books that are far too young for her, but they’ve been so well-loved that it’s hard to let them go! But I also realise we’re never going to read ‘My First Ballet Class’ again, and that she no longer has an interest in that pony set that she used to love. It also occurred to me, while I was watching hubby do the usual grapple with the swing set as he mowed the lawns, that the kids haven’t actually used the swing set in years! We’ve just become so used to seeing all this ‘stuff’ around, that we forget that we don’t really need it anymore! But there will be someone out there who is looking for a terrific swing/monkey bar set in excellent condition, and there will be a little girl who loves reading about ballet. So this weekend, I’ll be photographing and writing ads for all our ‘loved, but no longer needed stuff’, in an effort to bulk out our ‘kayak account’.

Yep, I love spring. There’s just something about all that new growth and birdsong that makes you realise that there’s a sunny light at the end of the winter tunnel! I’m also chomping at the bit to get my gardening gloves on and transform my boggy, overgrown gardens and get the lawns looking decent again. Although, to be fair, this winter I did manage to keep my vegie garden in business. I planted it out with my favourite greens (silverbeet, spinach and spring onions). And I tried something totally new – kale. It seems to be the latest ‘superfood’ in all the mags, plus my Weight Watchers leader raves about it (oh, 9.3kg down since March by the way… not bad eh?). So I popped a few punnets in and away it went! And I love it! My fave is kale chips – just a little oil and salt on the leaves and bake for about 20 minutes. Even my fussiest child loves them! And considering it costs around $5.00 for a bunch of 4-5 leaves at the supermarket, I’m pretty jolly pleased with kale-growing self!

I even managed to keep a little salad garden going over winter. Rather than plant in the ground, I used some medium-sized plastic pots that had been sitting under the house from years gone by. They’re brilliant – I can move them around in the sun, and it’s much easier to keep the snails out. I’m going to plant four or five pots of salad greens this summer, we go through bags of it and it’s just so expensive. I’m also planning to plant tomato plants, some green beans and some potatoes as soon as summer stops sulking and comes back (I love you summer!). There’s nothing more delicious than home-grown beans and spuds with just a little butter and a nice slice or two of ham!

Summer is going to be so surprised with me when it finally arrives! Can’t wait!

10. 50c Indulgences: Acres of Diamonds

Our Indulgences under 50c thread theme for August has been ‘Acres of Diamonds’. It's about things we have around us, right under our noses that are just wonderful and so helpful or useful and we don't even know it! We covered at least one discovery every day and saw lots of things through fresh eyes. I love turning something ordinary into something fantastic and useful, all for pennies. For an enormous list of inspirational ideas, take a look through the thread and mine some diamonds of your own!

To get us going I'm going to take a look at frames. Many of us have old picture frames lying around unused. I like the old ornate ones but rustic ones are also lovely. Sometimes you'll find them in the shed, missing glass or backing. I have found lots in op shops or discarded by someone. They are so useful I never fail to grab them! My recent project has been to turn them into blackboards - I love blackboards! You can write something inspirational on them, use them to help get organised or just have them as part of your décor. They also make fantastic gifts. I have painted blackboard paint straight over glass or a hideous painting!

Inspiration boards or photo displays are another lovely idea. Why not put your favourite images where you can enjoy them every day? An empty frame is easy to turn into an inspiration board. This one I filled with small chicken wire and use little pegs to hold my pictures on. I found this frame, painted it and tacked in the wire myself. It has given me so much joy.

A nice frame becomes a tray so easily – trays are so handy! I did this one (below) filling it with pretty things and adding handles from the hardware store. These make lovely gifts as you can personalise them with photos or mementos. A tray on your coffee table or dressing table holds your bits and pieces and looks great.

I hope you will find some inspiration for using ordinary things in extraordinary ways and come and join us all next month when we will continue with our ways to make life lovely for a few pennies, or our favourite - free!

You can drop in and join Annabel, Helen and the Under 50c Army.

11. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Prepping the Patch for Spring

Home-made seed raising mix for some early spring sowings

I decided to save a bit of coin and make up some seed raising mix for the seedlings that were going in. As the soil from most of the garden beds could potentially contain the nematode beasties, mentioned below in the blog, I decided to use some soil mix left over from the asparagus barrels. Asparagus are not affected by the nematodes so have left a lot of the soil aside for this purpose.

graphics3

As there were a lot of roots and pebbles in the mix I thought it best to make up a small makeshift screen to remove them. To add some nutrient and water holding capacity to the soil I decided to add some compressed coconut coir/coco peat. Compost or worm castings would work just as well. Unfortunately both of ours are full of various vegie seeds and we wouldn't really know if the plants we are growing would be what we actually planted. To hydrate the coco peat I used water from the solids filter in the aquaponics so there would be some added fishy nutrients in there. In the past I have used compost/wormcast teas and liquid seaweed/fish emulsions to hydrate the coco peat and found it worked really well.

graphics4

To make up the seed raising mix I added one part hydrated coco peat and two parts screened soil then mixed it together well. I think this will be a great blend for the seeds that will be going into them. The seeds I decided to plant out this weekend included some small white egg eggplants, bulls horn capsicum, some black Russian, KY1, Tigerella and some mini yellow egg tomatoes. These will sit in a tray that will have a bit of water added to the base of it every few days to keep them well hydrated.

graphics5

It has been a while since I have sown carrots so thought I better put a few rows down. Four rows were sown into the top two beds in the patch yesterday, three rows of the mixed colour heirloom (below) in the top bed and one row of the Kuroda short carrot in the next.

graphics6

As they are such small seeds I decided to sow them directly on top of the beds then sprinkle some moist coconut coir/peat over them to help keep them damp. Two more rows will be sown when these have sprouted their second sets of leaves. Two rows of beetroot shall be planted out tomorrow hopefully. I hope to have a continual supply of carrots and beetroot from now on by planting out a couple of rows every few weeks. Hope to have the rest of the warm month crops seeds organised and ready to go over the next few weeks. Couldn't help myself and put in another order with a small seed company this morning that will hopefully contain a few interesting varieties ;)»

Nuking the nematodes

I have mentioned in previous blogs that we have a few beds infested with root knot nematodes. They are not a problem in all parts of Australia but are rather 'fond' of our warm subtropical climate. The nematodes burrow into the root of your plants creating the knobbly galls you only see once it is pulled from the ground. They stay holed up in there feeding off the nutrients and providing nothing in return.

graphics7

Once they mate, the female will release her eggs to hatch on the outside of the root for the process to start all over again. These little pests have destroyed more than their fair share of crops for us and I have tried a few different methods of controlling them but none have worked terribly well. I have finally decided to heed the advice of more experienced gardeners and plant out French marigolds along with some mustard greens to try and eradicate them. Both plants contain chemical constituents that are toxic to the nematodes once they are released into the soil. The best way to do this is to grow the plants to about 30cm in height then chop them up and dig the green mulch through the soil. As the plant matter decomposes they release their chemicals, Alph terthional for the French marigolds and the mustard releases the chemical that gives it its kick, Allyl isothiocyanate.

Another bonus with using this 'chop and dig' method is that it will also help add organic matter back into the soil which I think the compost worms in there will love. So far I have only dug through the marigolds in one place. The mustard in the bed down the back needs another week of growth I think. By the end of the week I hope to have cleared out another bed and planted some 'Stinking Rodger'. This is also a member of the marigold family and was gifted to us by a generous local, thanks Deb :)» Jerry Colby-Williams (Gardening Australia) recommended its use for controlling root knot nematodes on his Facebook page so thought I'd give it a crack. It is known as Black Mint in some parts of South America and used as a culinary herb. I have seen a recipe for Black Mint sauce that I wouldn't mind trying, so will be saving some for the kitchen.

Hope you have all had a great weekend in the patch and managed to get some dirt under your nails ;)»

Have a great one all.
Rob

You can read more of Rob Bob's gardening adventures on the Simple Savings Facebook page or in our Members' Blog section.

12. Goodbye For Now

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for August 2013 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to think about starting a garden or get involved in a community garden. It doesn't matter where you live, there is always a way to get some more green into your life!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

August 2015 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - August 2015

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Little Green Lies!
August: Grow Your Own
Best of the Vault: From Little Things...
Best of the Forum: Get Your Fingers Green!
Best Members' Blog: For Such a Time as This...
Cooking with Mimi: Comfort Food... Cream of Winter Vegetable Soup
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: How to Get a Green Thumb

Hello,

I hope you are having a fantastic month. Pretty soon it is going to start getting warm so now is the perfect time to plan your spring garden. I hope this newsletter inspires you to get planting. Your emails inspire me to find new ways to help people save money.

Here are two beautiful emails we received this month:

"I received your latest newsletter and for the first time ever 'took the challenge'! I am so excited by what we accomplished that the whole family has decided to 'take the challenge' every month. Thank you, keep up the great work!" (Kez)

"I can't tell you how much your website has changed my life! I have been a member for a year now and we have cut back on our groceries, take our own coffee, cold drinks and snacks everywhere and I'm now looking at our phone, electricity and insurance. Thank you!" (Dee)

Have a great month!

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. We still have $21 Challenge books for $5.00.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Little Green Lies!

"Pete!" yelled Sal, "Out of the way! I'm trying to take a photo of the garden." Pete stepped back and smiled as Sal took some photos. "Thanks, Sal. It's looking great isn't it?" Pete said proudly.

"It's beautiful, Pete. Just wait until my Facebook friends see these new photos," Sal squealed. Pete smiled, "Really? So they're really interested in my little garden?" "Yep, they love the garden," said Sal, "They think I'm a real garden guru!" Sal beamed.

Pete stared daggers at Sal. She smiled sweetly at him. "What?" she said, "I help! Now give me the shovel and take a photo of me helping!"

2. August: Grow Your Own

Sally and Pete are definitely inspired when it comes to gardening, even if it's for completely different reasons! Well, this month we want YOU to be inspired! We want you to get online and find some gardening inspiration... and then just do it!

Some of us have huge yards and space for chickens and roomy garden beds, while others have a small balcony or a sunny kitchen window. Everyone can grow something - you just need the information and the inspiration. There are some fantastic websites, blogs and free apps out there and we've narrowed down a few to help. And of course don't forget our own Rob Bob and his fantastic YouTube videos and informative website, Bits Out the Back

Here's some help to get you started...

For our micro-gardeners with only a small space, look at clever garden design, herb gardens, hanging baskets and container gardening.

For those with larger yards, go for broke!

For experienced gardeners, why not take that next step and look at aquaponics, hydroponics, bushfoods, sustainable gardening and so on.

We want you to get inspired and then just go and do it! Go on, get those gloves on and get going!

3. Best of the Vault: From Little Things...

This month, your challenge is to grow just ONE thing. It could be a single pot of delicious cherry tomatoes, or some herbs or plant a citrus tree. Here are some great hints from the Vault to help get you started!

Garden fresh is always best

I used to visit the supermarket, take one look at the price of lettuce, then buy a bag of cheap salad mix, which was never as nice. Now I grow my own lettuce and that salad mix is a distant memory.

When we moved into our new home, we dug the old soil out of the garden and replaced it with a bag of potting mix and a bag of vegetable mix. For $1.99, I bought a punnet of six lettuce plants, put them into the garden and watched as they grew like mad. I now take five or six leaves off various plants every night, and the more I take off, the more the plants grow. I have also planted seeds to grow my own seedlings. One $5 pack of seeds will keep me in lettuce for the next three or four years.

My lettuce is fresh and delicious, much better than paying $4.00 a head, not to mention that bagged salad mix!

Contributed by: Helen Ashman

Turn store-bought garlic into a bumper crop

It's easy to grow your own garlic from the off-cuts of your store-bought garlic. Simply cut the ends off the bulb (where the roots grow) and pop in the garden. You only need a small amount. I recommend buying only Australian-grown garlic for the best results.

Contributed by: Karen Beeche

Mini herb garden is a winner

I saved money on pot plants with my mini recycled herb garden. My friend had a handful of empty formula tins that she had no use for but didn't want to throw out. I knew exactly how they could be put to good use, so I took them off her hands! First I covered them with brightly coloured paints and drilled holes into the sides of the tins. Then I joined four tins together with nuts and bolts then drilled some extra holes in the bottom of each tin for drainage. Finally I filled the tins with potting mix and planted a variety of herbs in them. I placed my mini herb garden on the back landing outside my window, where I could enjoy the sight and smell of them. I now enjoy fresh herbs every day.

Contributed by: Suzanne K

Tasty free rockmelons in your garden

I enjoy a fresh home-grown breakfast every morning! I love eating rockmelon for breakfast, but I didn't love the price, so I planted the entire seed ball of a rockmelon that I bought to eat. I am now getting my own fresh and tasty, chemical-free rockmelons at a fraction of the price!

Contributed by: Katie Chambers

Watch your savings grow by planting vegies

We are watching our vegetables grow and at the same time watching our grocery budget decrease by planting one crop of seedlings each week. It takes minimal time and even if you only plant four crops in the next month, that is four vegetables you no longer need to purchase at the supermarket. As the year goes on you can save and dry your seeds, pop them in an envelope and write down the name, when to plant, when to harvest and any tricks you learnt when growing the last crop. To make it fun for the children, we allocate one crop each that they are responsible to water, weed and harvest.

Our first crop was silverbeet which reaches maturity from seedlings in just 8-10 weeks and will give us a year-round supply of greens. We have also grown cabbage, leeks, parsnips, beetroot, broad beans, cauliflower and swedes/turnips. It takes minimal space for a few crops and the savings are now ongoing - the savings you make can be used to purchase a fruit tree, thus saving you even more money in the future.

Contributed by: Squirrel

4. Best of the Forum: Get Your Fingers Green!

We often say our Forum members know everything - well, when it comes to gardening, they DO! Here are some great threads about everything green.

Which is the best tomato variety for home dehydrating?

There are some good ideas in this thread to help make the most of your home grown goodies.
read more...

What's the best thing growing in your garden?

Need some inspiration - look no further!
read more...

Growing a mushroom farm kit

An easy way to grow your own mushrooms.
read more...

5. Best Members' Blog: For Such a Time as This...

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is Jessica and her thoughts on savings:

I went into work this past weekend to get my schedule for this week, something I do every Sunday. I found out that I am only on the schedule for one day this week. Sales have been down at work so my manager can't afford to have as many employees on the payroll. I sent a text message/SMS to my manager to let her know that I was available if she needed me for any other days during the week.

Even though my hours have been cut at work, I'm not in a panic. In fact I'm not worried at all. Since I started my job a year ago I've been putting money into my savings account every payday. Having my 'slush fund' has saved my hide on many occasions. It has given me so much peace of mind, words can't describe it. One of my favorite finance authors describes it perfectly - "Having an emergency fund turns what would otherwise be a financial disaster into a mere inconvenience." Truer words have never been spoken. As a matter of fact I tend to get antsy if my savings account gets below a certain level so I try not to touch it unless I absolutely have to.

As another one of my favorite books says, "Who knows if you were put here for such a time as this?" (I'm talking about the book of Esther in the Bible.) I've adapted this particular quote to say that my savings are set aside for such a time as this. Work may pick back up or it may not, but I have my savings to get me through for a little while at least. Peace of mind is truly priceless, no doubt in my mind about that.

So for anyone who gets frustrated that your money is just sitting in the bank 'doing nothing', there's no need to be that way. In fact you will be grateful that you have that money sitting there if hard times come up. I know I am.

Well done Jessica!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

6. Cooking with Mimi: Comfort Food... Cream of Winter Vegetable Soup... No Cream

This is such a versatile idea.

It can become any sort of soup you want really; pumpkin, cauliflower, broccoli, potato and leek, or a combination of all of those.

I tend to use it as a more appealing way of serving the less loved vegies here. Now for me, there are no less loved veg, but convincing the rest of the family is often a bit of a chore.

This week we had broccoli and cauliflower soup as both of those were surprisingly inexpensive to buy. A whole cauliflower was just $3.00, after being over double that price a little while ago, and the broccoli was only $2.00/kg, so it made sense to make the most of it!

You do need a food processor or stick blender for this recipe. You can mash it and push the mixture through a fine sieve, but that is laborious to say the least! It's a good idea too, to start this in the morning so you have time to allow it to cool if you have to process it. If you're using a stick mixer it won't matter.

The addition of the bread and potato gives it a thick creamy texture without adding cream. :)

You'll need:

Equal amounts (approximately) of cauli and broccoli. I just fill the crockpot up to the very top.
4 cups chicken stock
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1-2 slices fresh bread
3 tbsp milk powder
Seasoning to taste
Fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil or other flavour-infused oil to serve. Garlic infused oil is delicious.

Then just:

Pile the broccoli and cauli into the slow cooker and add the chicken stock, garlic, onion and potato.

Cook on High until the vegies are very soft, about three hours.

Turn the slow cooker off and remove the lid, allowing it to cool slightly if you need to process it in a food processor. If you're using a stick mixer then carefully blend the mixture until it's smooth. Add the milk powder. Tear the bread into small pieces and add that as well, to smooth the texture and thicken the soup without adding cream or butter or flour.

Turn the slow cooker back on and allow it to reheat the soup for about half an hour. Taste test and season if necessary. Sometimes I find I need to add another stock cube or two at this stage.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Add a drizzle of oil as fats do help carry flavour to your taste buds and this will just give the soup a little lift. Top with a generous garnish of lovely, freshly chopped herbs. Things like garlic chives, thyme, oregano and parsley are ideal.

This makes an enormous amount and it's fed us for a dinner and four afternoon teas so far. There's nothing better than a big steaming mug of creamy soup on a chilly winter's afternoon. :)

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

7. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: How to Get a Green Thumb

Starting off a vegie patch, there's no time like now ;-)

Growing your own food can be one of the easiest ways to make a dent in the household budget. You have access to fresher produce than you could ever hope to find in the shops or markets, and you can whip up a salad quicker than it takes you to nip off down to the shops. Taking the first step can be rather daunting for some but I can assure you that once you sit down to a meal containing something you grew yourself you'll be hooked. I thought I'd run through a few basic gardening methods to give folks an idea of the ways you can grow your own.

Before you head off to the nursery to buy seedlings, or hop online to buy some heirloom seeds, the best thing to do is work out what plants you enjoy eating. There's no point in planting out dozens of kale plants only to find out the taste isn't to your liking.

How much space you need will depend on whether you wish to start out with a small potted garden or if you're willing to take the big leap and set up a garden bed of some sort. Position also matters as most plants do best with 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. Bianca and I first started off with a few pots of herbs in a sunny spot near the front door of the first house we rented. It wasn't much but it was great to be able to add some home-grown oregano to pizzas, mint to hot drinks and thyme to the casseroles. It was also in a spot that we passed a few times a day which helped remind us to keep the pots well-watered. These plants did well in this position so pots of sweet basil and salad greens were added to the garden soon afterwards.

Once you have worked out what you want to grow and where you want to grow it, the next step is to work out how.

Container gardens

Container gardens are probably the easiest way to get your hands dirty when it comes to growing your own produce. For folks that rent it is often the only option as many landlords may not be too happy with the idea of lawn being removed for vegie patches.

This style of gardening can also help people with small yards or in apartments with only balcony space available to provide you with some home-grown produce. Growing climbing plants like beans, cucumbers and tomatoes on small trellises along walls can also help you squeeze more pots and containers into a small space. This also allows you to have rows of progressively shorter plants growing in front without shading out the plants behind.

When it comes to sourcing pots and containers there is no need to spend a lot of money. When we were starting out, we sourced large pots from the weekend markets, family and friends. There are also online groups like Freecycle that allow people to list items they want to give away rather than have them end up in land fill.

We have made use of groups like this in the past to get gardening gear like pots and bathtubs that have been used to grow plants in. You can often find some bargains on sites like Gumtree as well as local trading groups on Facebook that will save you a bit of coin. We have purchased many of the IBC tanks that we cut down and turn into large container wicking gardens from Gumtree. I have already posted a blog in January on how we've used containers and pots to grow food, including a few ideas on soil mix selection for those interested in checking it out.

In ground gardens

Traditional garden beds are probably the preferred way to raise plants for those who have a bit of available space, with raised beds probably being the most popular method used in the urban setting. Having the soil elevated off the ground can help you create a soil structure that may give you better plant growth when compared to the native soil. This becomes very handy in situations where the soil drains too freely like the sandy soils around the coastline. In these areas you might need to add in a bit of organic matter or maybe even a small amount of powdered clay-based water retention products to help improve the water holding capacity of the beds. Other areas may have poorly draining clay soils so a nice compost-rich soil in a raised garden bed will offer better drainage allowing the roots of your plants to breathe and not get waterlogged.

To set up an in-ground bed the first thing you need to do is select a position that gets a decent amount of sunlight (6-8 hours as mentioned above). You next need to remove or suppress the grass where the garden beds are to be situated.

A lot of people like to dig out the top 40-50mm/1½-2" of grass. I think an easier method is to lay down a thick layer of newspaper (10+ pages thick) or a few layers of plain brown cardboard to suppress the lawn/weeds. As the grass won't have access to light it will die off fast enough and become added organic matter in the base of the bed.

The next step is to add in soil mixed with some compost. You can save yourself some money if you can use soil from your yard but that isn't an option for a lot of folks. You probably won't have a great deal of compost on hand either when you first start out so buying some in may be the best option. Buying a soil compost blend is something we have done before and it can be a relatively cheap way to start up a bed. Stay away from the commercial bagged compost for large beds as it will be rather expensive. You will find you can buy compost at a fraction of the bag price from landscape suppliers at the same time you buy the soil. If you ask nicely some suppliers will also mix the compost through the soil saving you a bit of work. One thing I would suggest at this point is to also consider starting off your own compost pile or compost worm farm. You will not only save money from buying in products to feed the patch but you will also be saving rubbish from landfill. ;-)

A few ideas for raised bed borders

Most folks like to have a border of some type around their beds to help keep the soil in place and to also help prevent the lawn growing into the beds.

We used roofing tin off-cuts and angle iron from old bed frames that were destined for landfill. I have seen raised bed borders made out of recycled materials like timber, old railway sleepers, besser/cinder blocks, reclaimed concrete, bricks, odd rocks and hay/straw bales.

DIY timber frames, like Ian uses in his allotment garden, as well as kit beds made from timber and tin also do a great job at holding in the soil and can sometimes be purchased rather cheaply.

Having the beds off the ground also allows people that might find it hard to get down into the soil to get involved with growing and tending their own food. Along with the raised bed gardens there are other low maintenance in ground styles like the "No Dig Garden" and the "Back to Eden" methods for people that might be interested. While these methods are normally used directly on the ground they can also be incorporated into a framed raised bed.

Other forms of gardening that might interest some are aquaponics and hydroponics.

Both tend to appeal to folks who like to tinker and both are very water wise. They also have the added benefit of being raised off the ground and require very little strenuous lifting once set up, making them ideal for people with physical limitations.

I could actually keep going on but should probably end it there methinks. ;-)

A look at the front yard vegie beds

With only a few weeks of winter left I thought it best to start getting the asparagus beds fed up in the front yard vegie patch. I also took the opportunity to squeeze in an extra crop of broccoli before the weather starts to warm up too much. Here's how the beds were fed up using home-made compost and locally sourced manures. (Video) I've also posted a clip on the aquaponics for those interested in a look (Video)

I can tell you that the system is doing very well with loads of greens and tomatoes still being picked.

Pickings from the patch

Despite the cooler weather we've been having over the past few weeks we're still getting some good harvests from the patch. The lime tree had a good pruning as I want to semi espalier the tree and add on a few grafts in the coming months so it can become a citrus 'fruit salad' tree. A couple of kilograms of fruit were collected during the pruning, most of which have been juiced and frozen and some given away to friends and family.

The tomatoes are still producing loads of fruit at the moment.

I have been very happy with the large fruit of the 'Wherokowhai' (top left) and 'Summertime Gold' dwarf varieties. Some have been saved for making sauces with most being eaten fresh with our lunches. The smaller fruiting 'Rum ball' (bottom left) in the aquaponics has been providing us with loads of fruit that we've been adding to salads. The 'Brain' tomatoes (bottom right) have been a bit of a novelty here. They are a very lumpy fruit with a fair bit of flesh that go well with salads but I have found the flavour a bit lacking which could be due to them not growing in the best conditions. I am hoping the next lot of plants will give us a tastier fruit.

I have harvested the first few lots of the purple cauliflower and three more are just starting to form heads. I have taken a fair number of broccoli heads off from the plants with the plants out the front starting to be harvested at the moment. The plants out the front are F1 or hybrid varieties so are not forming many side shoots unfortunately. Luckily the ones out the back are an heirloom 'Waltham' variety and are producing a small continual harvest of side shoots.

I have also been taking out a few Jade perch from the fish farm.

Most of these fish went into fish cakes made with some home grown chilli, turmeric and galangal. I think I minced some of the batch up a bit too much and will listen to Bianca next time and follow her recipe. ;-) They turned out very golden due to the turmeric and tasted fantastic. I am looking forward to harvesting all the fish from the fish farm so we can set up more vegie grow beds for the aquaponic system. Hopefully that will be done before summer.

That's it for this month's blog.
Hope you're all getting plans underway for the spring garden.
Rob.

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

8. Goodbye, Goodbye!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for August 2015 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to check the Forum and Facebook for challenges and inspiration to help you get growing your own and let us know how you go!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

August 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Hi,

How are you doing? I hope you are well. We are out of lock down at the moment. But, who knows what tomorrow brings. It has been a crazy, topsy turvy, upside down, inside out kind of year.

I'm sorry for not sending the last two newsletters. I always put a piece of myself in these newsletters. And, it is hard to be happy and chirpy when so many people are fighting.

What do I mean? The maskers, the anti-maskers, the vaxxers, anti-vaxxers, the pro-choice, no-choice, for lock down and against lock down. It is all bonkers!!! I know I'm never supposed to be political in these newsletters, but I've added a letter I wrote to my local MP at the bottom of this newsletter. (Weirdly, my local MP never read the letter. His staff chose not to give it to him. Which was kind of soul destroying. There is something about pouring your everything into a letter to your local MP and his staff telling you he is too busy to bother to read letters sent to him. That broke my heart in two.)

Anyway, I guess I had to get that out. Thank you for being patient with me. On with the show.

Bring on the Pandemic of Kindness

Roald Dahl is one of my favourite authors and I've seen a few people meanly use his quotes to divide and dominate others. I found it really strange because the hero's of Roald Dahl's books always had one thing in common. They were kind. Their most important feature wasn't that they were strong or tough or brave or divisive. The thing that made his heroes, heroes was kindness.

This year I have seen multitudes of people divided, attacked and ridiculed for their struggles and beliefs. This is NOT OK. It doesn't matter whether you are scared or anxious or trapped in a permanent state of 'fight or flight'. Being disrespectful to people with different struggles or beliefs is unkind. Doing it would make you a villain in a Roald Dahl book. Not a hero.

Hero's are considerate. They are respectful. They have empathy. They take the time to understand other people's problems. When they see someone struggling with the masses of changes Covid has thrust upon us. They don't mock, attack or take advantage of them. That is the sort of thing villains do.

It is the sort of thing that makes everything worse. Where being kind makes everything better. There are so many things in Covid we can't control and shouldn't be trying to control. But, the one thing we can do is to 'do our best to be kind'. Sometimes this is tricky. It involves taking a deep breath. Putting down your phone. Maybe switching off the TV. Avoiding the radio. Going for a quick walk and putting on a smile that goes all the way to your eyes when you would rather be curling up in a ball. But, it is worth it.

Being kind is valuable. It is special and the wonderful thing about kindness is that it is contagious. When one person sees kindness. They copy and it spreads. Such as the Facebook group. "Bussinesses United Auatralia"

It has gone from 0 to 162,000 people in two weeks.

I like this group because it is kind. It brings people together. It reminds us that we are one and there are a lot of wonderful people out there. Watching all the wonderful happy kind people in that group makes me feel happy and hopeful for a pandemic of kindness to wash away the fear.

If we lived our life in a musical. This would be the point where the entire cast would break out into The Seekers song..

We are one, but we are many

And from all the lands on earth we come

We'll share a dream and sing with one voice

"I am, you are, we are Australian"

Then all the fear would magically disappear, the cast would break out into enormous grins and the pandemic of kindness would begin.

We don't live in a musical. But, everything goes full circle and I'm looking forward to the Pandemic of Kindness. Where people smile and look at each other. Where we all do kind and generous things. Where Aussies and Kiwis are one and everyone has what it takes to be a hero in a Roald Dahl story.

Grateful Garden

On the first day of our last lockdown I picked snow peas from our wicking beds. Wandering out to the yard, picking fresh snow peas, munching on parsley and lettuce felt so good. Of all the things I have done to save money over the years the wicking beds give me the most pleasure for the least effort.

Do you remember more than two years ago the kids and Matt made me two 1 x1 m wicking beds for my birthday? The whole thing from removing weeds, flattening the ground, cutting up the IBC containers, placing and filling them took a day or two. Since then we have eaten something from these beds nearly every single day. And, it feels fantastic!

Especially because I'm a terrible gardener. Yet, even I can grow food in wicking beds because they are small and easy to maintain.

Here is a list of things we have been eating out of them for the last two years. Ten different types of lettuce, Thai basil, Italian basil, parsley galore, snow peas in winter, asparagus, tarragon, chives, spring onions, tomatoes, thyme, maragarom and Japanese parsley.

If you would like to set up your own beds. Here are links to articles on how we created them.

How to make an IBC wicking bed

My favourite part about having these beds and growing some of our own food is the way going to the yard and snacking on plants makes me feel. It is really grounding and helps me remember there is so much more to this world than fear. It reminds me that Mother Nature is really clever. And that all species adapt quickly and fresh snow peas are delicious :-)

Sandra's Chocolate Brownies

Here is Sandra's delicious Chocolate Brownie Recipe, because life is better when you are munching on a chocolate brownie.

Easy Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup (150g) plain flour
¾ cup (75g) cocoa
¾ cup (130g) brown sugar
1 ⅓ cup (290g) caster sugar
175g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
125g dark chocolate, chopped

Method

Place the flour, cocoa, brown sugar, caster sugar, melted butter, vanilla and the 3 eggs in a large bowl.

Mix everything until it is smooth.

Add the chopped chocolate and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C

Lightly grease and line a 20cm square tin with non-stick baking paper.

Spread the mixture into the tin.

Bake for 50 minutes to an hour until the Brownie is set.

You can touch the top of the brownie with your fingertips to see if it is firm and set.

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing and slicing into squares and serving warm. Or you can allow it to cool completely in the tin.

Makes 16 x pieces.

Tax Cheque Time

For people who are still looking forward to receiving their tax cheque, here are some great ideas on how to use it, to improve your year ahead.

Pay some off your mortgage: as that payment is a good way to make sure that if interest rates increase in the future, you will have extra funds set aside, besides you will pay less interest in the long term.

Reduce Credit Card or other types of debts: this is far more valuable than getting instant gratification from a purchase. Eliminating debt now, has a far more positive outcome later.

Debtless purchase: if you need to make a very large purchase, a tax refund might go a fair way towards buying that item debt free. Doing your homework and taking advantage of carefully sourced items at sales, will pay dividends.

Build your super: you could add extra money to your Super, reaping the rewards for later when you retire.

Build a cash fund: not spending your tax cheque and keeping it as a small 'stash of cash', (meaning small, safe, readily accessible funds) is a nice luxury especially if you are planning to retire earlier than the 'official retirement age'

Boosting your savings: adding tax cheque money to your 'long term savings' is also a way of boosting them.

Long term investment: you can put the money into a compounding interest account. Then your savings will grow and grow.

Plan for the year ahead: have a look at your budget and if there are any gaps then you can use your tax cheque to fill them.

There are plenty of choices: this may sound silly but you don't have to spend your tax cheque in one place or use it for one thing. You can choose a few things to do with your tax refund which will make you better off.

The Eight Steps to Happiness: REVISED

Late one night about 15 years ago I was awake and trying to work out how to teach other people to find deals and make wise decisions. Then I realised I followed a process. Wrote it down for everyone and called it the Eight Steps to Happiness. These were later shortened to three steps and became the motto, "Stop. Think. Save!"

In the last couple of months I have been going back to these eight steps and feeling incredibly grateful for them. But, things have changed and is time for an update.

Step 1 - Stop yourself!

Before you make a decision, pause for just a minute. Stop yourself and start your brain thinking about whether or not you are about to make a good or a bad decision. An influencer's job is to influence you. Find a way to trigger your internal alarm bell, so you can STOP and make sure the decision you are about to make is your own. Then move on to Step 2.

Step 2 - Are you comfortable?

If you feel uncomfortable then your decision making is impaired. Before you go any further. Ask yourself: Am I scared? Am I hungry? Am I in pain? Am I being pressured? If the answer is yes to any of those things are true. Then you are easy to manipulate and making a wise decision is going to be very difficult. Delay your decision until you are comfortable. Then move on to Step 3.

Step 3 - Is there something else?

There are so many other things you could have. Is this what you really want? Do you have other choices? Are there any other options? If you have decided that this is the only thing you want, go to Step 4.

Step 4 - Is it worth the effort?

Every decision has a physical cost. Whether it be the time it takes to earn the money or the toll it takes on your body. Research whether or not it is worth your effort? If so, move on to Step 5.

Step 5 - What will you gain?

Everything has a benefit. What will your decision gain you? Are they real gains or fools gold? Will it improve your health and happiness or genuinely improve your life? How? It is important that you are really skeptical. Now move on to Step 6.

Step 6 - What will you lose?

From every decision you make, you will gain something and lose something. If you are lucky, the only thing you lose is cash, and the time it took you to earn that money. But this is not always the case. Once you are certain you have worked out everything you will lose, move on to Step 7.

Step 7 - Is there a better way?

Now it is time to shop around and find what all the possible options are. How can you make sure you are getting the best value, the safest and the wisest option? Occasionally, working it out for yourself will take more time than you save, but you will get satisfaction in knowing that you have NOT been tricked and are doing the best for your family. Once you have researched your decision and found the best way, move on to Step 8.

Step 8 - Do you have the spare cash?

Most of the time, buying things on credit is stupid. So if you don't have the cash, remain free, walk away and live happily ever after. Nothing is worth burdening yourself with debt for. This means you should avoid credit cards, After Pay, interest free loans, mortgage refinancing facilities, etc. Only buy something if you have the spare cash - and if you don't, go home and save until you do.

These Eight Steps are the key to making wise choices so you can live a better low stress life.

Fiona's letter to MP

I sent this letter to my Federal MP Ted O'Brien. It was never given to him. Hopefully, you enjoy reading it.

Dear Ted,

82 years ago my grandfather was picked up by the Gestapo for the second time. This time they let him go in the hope that he would lead them to jewels and other Jews. He didn't, instead he and his mate grabbed their backpacks and skis and started climbing the Alps. When the Gestapo arrived at his home to re-capture him and his goodies. He was already gone. The Gestapo had missed him by fifteen minutes.

As my grandfather and his friend climbed the Alps a patrol found them. Flipped a coin, shot his mate and let my grandfather keep climbing. From there he walked across Europe, caught a boat to Australia and safety.

I am very proud of my grandfather. He was wise, clever and strong. He got all of his family to safe places where they could live freely and would never be gassed or experimented on.

Living in Australia I have always felt safe, until now. At the moment, I am afraid. Two weeks ago someone reported our primary school to the Police because they thought the school wasn't enforcing masks adequately at school pick up. Watching people turn on their own community is disturbing. The part of me that used to gawp at my grandma's friend's concentration camp tattoos is horrified.

The Covid craziness is infecting people and I fear that we have not learned from the errors humanity made in World War 2. Such as,

One person's beliefs are not more important than another person's beliefs.
Never let the people at the top have too much power, just in case they go mad with it.
Bad things happen, when good people do nothing.
No forced or coerced medical procedures or experiments, EVER.
Everyone is equal. Do not victimise, isolate or create divides.
When people turn on each other. No one is safer and everyone loses.

The craziest and scariest Covid concept I have seen so far is the Vaccine Passport. It is an excuse for one group to force their medical beliefs onto another group. It is everything my grandfather escaped Germany to avoid.

I'm writing to you because you are one of the very few men in Australia in a position to stop the Vaccine Passport. As one of your constituents I really want to admire you and I pray you are wise, clever and strong like my grandfather. Because right now we need community leaders to be the sort of people their grandchildren will admire and be proud of for many years.

I'm writing to you to beg you to do all you can to stop the Vaccine Passport. Even though you may feel like your voice in your party is small. Can you please use it to protect our freedom and our society? We are counting on you.

Fiona Lippey

Till next time

Thank you everyone for humouring me. I'm sorry this newsletter is not as money focused as some people expect from me. But, Covid is all consuming. It seems this newsletter had taken up residence in my skull and I couldn't do anything else until it was typed out and sent.

Many hugs

Fiona

December 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - December 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Mother's Pride
January is Screen Time Month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Lin's Garden Diary
Best of the Vault: Rediscover Family Fun
Best of the Forum: Switch it Off!
Cooking with Mimi: Almond Crusted Chicken Schnitzels
and Choc Mint Rolled-Up Pav
Penny's Blog: Happy New Year!
Homeopathy Corner: I Thought I Was a Goner
From Last Month: An Overabundance of Hankies
This Month's Help Request: Healthy Lunchbox Options
Savings Story: My $50 Christmas!
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Happy new year!

I hope you have had a fantastic 2011 and you and your calendar ('The NEW, clever YOU!') are all set to make 2012 a great year! The first month we are helping you bring in a screen time currency to your household. I love 'screen time', it has made a huge difference to our household, as I'm sure it will to yours.

If there are any of your friends or family who you think will benefit from 'screen time' or a copy of the calendar, send it through to them. It is for everybody. You never know, you may just change their life and they will thank you.

"The $21 Challenge has changed my life. I never liked cooking and baked twice a year - cakes for my two boys' birthdays. Now I menu plan every week, cook a whole meal at least six days a week, with desserts two to three times a week, and I even bake once or twice a week. Cooking doesn't seem to be such a chore if you make things with ingredients you already have. My husband thinks it's great as he eats (always has eaten) huge amounts, one son likes the baking and the other is much better at trying new things than ever before. I have several new items of kitchen equipment and several new cookery books (three of which are Australian Women's Weekly)." (Nicola Hunt, UK)

"Today I went online to buy a gift membership for my sister and was so very happy to see that it was only $17! Thanks so much - you've just saved me money on gift buying while giving someone something very useful. It has made me think about who else I could give this to as a gift. Also, I was prepared for it to be tricky to sign up someone else as a gift and was thinking in advance of what passwords etc to put for them, only to find out that it was really simple and quick and I could finalise the whole process before my toddler even realised I had left the room. Thanks Simple Savings!" (Cassandra Walker)

"Wow, just wanted to say what an amazing place the SS Forum-land is! Having followed one thread in particular, the member's story is so heartbreaking and distressing, but by being on SS for just over six hours her mood has improved and her power to make a good decision seems to have returned. I am so impressed with the SS members who responded to her post and just wanted to share." (Nicole)

Happy new year! I hope you have a great one!

All the best,
Fiona

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Mother's Pride

"This looks fantastic, Sal!" Sally's neighbour, Linda commented on seeing the beautiful table set for dinner. "You really didn't have to go to so much trouble though!" "Oh, it wasn't me - it was Sarah," Sally smiled at her daughter proudly, "she did everything - right down to the table decorations."

"Well, you've done a wonderful job, Sarah! Thanks so much for inviting me for dinner, can I help with anything?" "No! It's OK Linda, that's my job," piped up Sally's son, James. "Do you need a hand with anything Mum? Does the dishwasher need emptying yet?" "Not yet, darling, be patient!" laughed Sally. "Don't worry; I'll let you know as soon as it's ready." Linda looked around the house in amazement - she never thought having kids would be like this!

"I might not have any kids of my own but Sally, your children are like no other children I've ever seen! What's your secret?" Linda found herself asking. "I have found a way to motivate them," Sally smiled. "I don't pay them money for chores. Instead they get paid in screen time. Sarah gets half an hour to spend on the computer or TV if she does a good job setting the table, another half an hour for the dishwasher and so on." "Wow Sally! That is brilliant. Where did you get that idea?" asked Linda.

2. January is Screen Time Month!

My iPad is brilliant. It cleans my floors, sets the table, prepares food and even empties the dishwasher! This is pretty good considering when I first got my iPad I thought it was just a stupid toy - a mobile computer whose screen was still too small to do anything useful. But that was before my kids got hold of it.

You see, my kids love my iPad. It has cool, addictive games that they want to play again and again and again. So my children, my iPad and I have a 'Screen Time' agreement. The one who empties the dishwasher gets half an hour of screen time. If they share the task, they share the time. And that is how my iPad does my household chores!

Screen time rules in the Lippey household:

Empty the dishwasher = 30 minutes screen time
Set the table for dinner = 10 minutes
Set the table faster = 15 minutes
Set the table faster AND beautifully = 20 minutes
Clearing dishes from the table = 10 minutes
Wiping the table after dinner = 5 minutes
Vacuuming the kitchen = 15 minutes
Vacuuming under the table = 15 minutes
Vacuuming the lounge room = 30 minutes
Vacuuming the hallway = 10 minutes
Vacuuming the bedroom = 15 minutes per bedroom
Making a meal for the rest of us = 30 minutes
Tidying hard toys = 5 minutes
Tidying books = 5 minutes
Changing Elora's nappy = 5 minutes for #1, 15 minutes for #2 :-D
Folding a basket of washing = 30 minutes
Hanging out a basket of washing = 30 minutes

You get the idea! If you think offering screen time for chores instead of money is stingy, think again. We tried 'money for chores' but it didn't work. The reward needs to be instant.

How to implement screen time rules in your household:

You will need a partner in crime. This can be your life partner, best friend or family member but needs to be someone who will back you up if the kids start whinging.
Take the screens away. Remove any batteries where applicable, for example, from video game controllers and so on if you need to.
Hold a family meeting and tell them that you love them and want them to be the best people they can be. Tell them you also want your family to be the best it can be so you are going to completely ban screens for one month; lock anything with a screen away or loan them to Grandma.
Wait for the howls of complaint...
THEN offer them a second option - they can earn screen time. They will still be allowed to use their iPads/iPods/game consoles but they have to have done something to earn the time, such as putting the washing away first. Make it clear that if they say no all the screens are going to disappear because you love them and spending so much time in front of screens is shrinking their brain. The choice is theirs - lose the screens altogether or embrace SCREEN TIME! :-D

This system really works because the kids are given limits which they can control, so it gives them the independence and freedom they need while getting them to contribute to the household. Everybody's happy! Give it a go this month and write in and let us know how it went. We are looking forward to hearing about your hurdles and how you jumped over them!

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

The Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members find it easier to source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a store, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you could win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us, the better your chance of winning. This month's winner is Grease Mechanic's Workshop as nominated by HappyHappyJoyJoy.

Grease Mechanic's Workshop
37 Lower King Street
Caboolture
Queensland 4510

Here's what makes this one such a great example of a Hidden Gem:

Ladies - if you're like me, you just dread the thought of taking your car into the mechanics! They speak a language I don't understand, they're usually all men and (gulp) I'm always just a little bit worried that they might try and rip me off. Well, this little hidden gem is a Godsend if you're a woman like me!

At 'Grease' (which is the separate garage/mechanic next door to Freedom Fuels) you do not need to worry anymore! Yes, they're all blokes, and yes, they still speak some kind of Klingon language from what I can ascertain BUT they will take the time to translate into English, they treat you nicely and with respect and *woot woot* they are not in the business of ripping you off! Hip hip hooray!

Seriously though, I needed to take my much loved Chrysler PT Cruiser in for a RWC and to have a couple of little bits checked out. I rang around and everyone else on the planet seemed to be too busy to see me, except for Grease. The chap on the phone said to pop down the next day and he would see if he could do my RWC on the spot.

When I turned up, there were quite a few cars there, so I parked up and went into the little office. Mr Mechanic chap asked when I needed my car back, and because I needed to pick up my cat from the vet, I asked for 'as soon as possible'. Anyway, Mr Mechanic chap went and removed another car from inside the garage, told me to take a seat in the office and he would do my RWC straight away.

Was I impressed? Oh, yes :)

So I sat in the office, which is teeny weeny, and because of the height of the reception, you could barely see that I was sitting there. I was able to hear the men who work as part of the mechanics garage, and I also heard how they treated their customers on the phone. And I am happy to tell you that they treated every single woman with respect and due care. The way they spoke to people on the phone is the same as the way they speak to people in person. Yes, the two head mechanics would sometimes call the customer 'darlin'' but it was in no way derogatory or mean. I felt that it was their way of being friendly and trying to put people at ease.

When it came time to tell me what needed to be done on my car, I have to admit, I did think I was in a Star Trek movie (e.g. mechanic chap was moving his lips and a Klingon dialect was coming out). So I asked him to write down his recommendations so I could get my husband to check them for me. He was more than happy to provide me with written documentation and possible costings and also when he thought things would need to be done by, such as my seat belt needed to be seen to asap. Based on this, I chose to have the more urgent things taken care of immediately. And once again, this was not a problem.

And once again, was I happy? Oh yes!

'Grease' is a busy little place. In the time I was there, it was bustling with customers on the phone and in person - some with appointments and some without. And you know the old adage "Go where the locals go", so obviously 'Grease' is a hot fave with the locals, and with good reason. The men who work there are decent people. They work hard, they're friendly and they are not in the market of ripping you off. If I'm going to have to fork out money for my car, then I want it to be to a place that treats me decently and who do a decent job. And it's kinda nice to support a local firm. *happy smile*

Congratulations HappyHappyJoyJoy for being this month's winner and a huge pat on the back to Grease for providing consistently outstanding customer service and value for money!

Send us your best restaurant Hidden Gem!

We want to know which is your favourite local or little-known restaurant! When you have the spare cash for a fantastic meal out, where do you go? Tell us about it and you could win $100 cash! You can enter your Hidden Gem into our monthly competition here. Thank you and good luck!

4. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Helenc for this extract from her blog 'Defining who you are'.

"I was just having a shower a few moments ago and was thinking about what defines who you are. Not only mentally, but physically. And not only a spiritual, airy-fairy 'who' you are, but also your 'look'.

I am a wife to my husband and a mum to a son and daughter. My life has taken a turn though, and I resigned from work a week ago. I have gone from being a full-time receptionist to a carer for my two Asperger's men - my husband and son. Being a full-time carer, it will be hard not to focus on them and neglect me.

So, apart from being a wife, mum and carer, what else defines me?

Where do I start?

I decided to start small. With appearances. I know, it might sound a bit superficial and shallow, but how many women often lament that they never have time to look after themselves because they are too busy with the kids and the house? I'm betting, a lot.

Thinking about different looks and clothes, I've discovered what style I really like. A slightly hippy, free spirit look. If you've seen the movie Twister, think of the older lady that plays Aunt Meg. I LOVE her. Now, I know that she is old enough to be my mum, but I love her look, her hair, everything. When I am in my 60's, I want to look exactly like her. Long hair (naturally grey), long flowered skirts, soft blouses, long dangly earrings and jewellery etc.

I know the look isn't really 'in', but I don't care. I LOVE it, and I feel that it is very 'me'. Problem though - my wardrobe is mainly work clothes or jeans and t-shirts. I do have one or two long skirts though, and a couple of loose floral tops. The best thing with the look not really being in though, a lot of clothes in this style will hopefully be hiding at the op-shops! Ooh, op-shop crawl! Bring it on! lol

My mum inadvertently started me on the path to my new look this afternoon. She gave me a gorgeous pair of dangly earrings! Very happy!

I also want to change my house to reflect the 'new me'. Unfortunately this will involve housework. Dang. But I want to make the house softer. It is a rental so we can't do TOO much, but I'd like some indoor plants (especially the ones that are supposed to clean the air around computers etc). I also want to get my candle collection out of the cupboard and actually start USING them. Start growing some herbs, fruit and vegetables in pots, and spending more time outside instead of in front of the computer (sacrilege, I know). Or at least I could get a notebook computer and take it to a park! lol

I also want to start doing something just for me every night, along the lines of the 50c indulgence thread. Last night after I washed my hair I sprayed it with colour shine spray. Cost was $0, as the spray was from a hairdresser sample bag that was given to me at the shopping centre. Tonight I plan on using toner and moisturiser that I've had sitting in the cupboard for ages and haven't used. It was Clinique so not cheap. I spent the money on it, I should be using it! I also received some Nivea samples in the post, so I'll be using them up too. I used to be an Avon rep and have so many samples and products lying around the house it's not funny. My mission will be to start using them up, and not buy any more until it is all gone. I could probably go for at least a two years without having to buy moisturiser or cosmetics!

Eventually I also want to get back in shape and lose the baby weight. My baby will be starting prep in January. So the baby weight excuse doesn't really hold water any more, does it! Instead, the baby weight is mainly holding fizzy drinks and orange juice. :S So, time to cut back on the fizz, and start drinking regular water. I'll try and eat my 2 pieces of fruit and some veges each day too. Note to self - popcorn does not count as a vegetable. Especially when cooked in butter and liberally coated in sugar and salt.

So in summary, a complete body and lifestyle overhaul. Hmm. That's a big challenge! One step at a time!

Off to have a glass of water and a nectarine!

Congratulations helenc and all the very best to you and your family for 2012!

To read more from her, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Lin's Garden Diary

What a fantastic month it has been in the garden! Summer has arrived, which is when we eat lots of salads. It's an incredible feeling to walk to the back yard and pick our own freshly homegrown produce! I simply cannot wait until next summer when I can pick an entire salad from the garden. This month we have picked and eaten radishes, beans, beetroot, peas (they never make it to the plate, just straight in our mouth!), and it's only a matter of days before we pick our first corn and tomatoes! The regular weekly feed of seaweed juice or worm wee has proven to be a huge success. Our corn was looking a little sad, but a good dose of seaweed juice and 'voila'! I have since learnt that corn requires lots of feed. They now get a big drink of seaweed each week and worm wee every fortnight.

This month I wanted to focus on composting. This is when your food scraps simply decompose and return to the soil. My goal is to invest in a rotating tumbler bin, however, with our build underway I need to keep an eye on the budget, so we will have to save for this and make do with a trench compost in the meantime.

We have been throwing away our fruit and vegetable scraps and it felt like throwing away 'gold'. My 'gardening mentor' suggested we have a 'bokashi', the idea was developed in Japan, meaning 'fermented organic matter'. So we found a large bucket and a large plate to use as a lid, kept it in the kitchen and filled it with scraps. It's odorless and is recommended that you keep your bokashi in the kitchen for up to 10 days, then add it to your compost. Ours was sitting there for about three weeks as Christmas arrived and anything to do with 'gardening' went out the window! I did, however, manage to move it outside as it was beginning to break down, not that it was smelly, but it was beginning to look rather disgusting! 'oooohhh yuck'!

There are lots of different ways you can compost. Being the 'lazy gardener' I need things to be easy and accessible, hence choosing the rotating tumbler bin! I also figure it will allow me to dedicate more time to my garden, rather than my compost! Composting is a great easy system for recycling and reducing garden waste (us 'Simple Savers' like this idea don't we?!).

Why compost?

You recycle and reduce garden waste
It produces fungi and bacteria (which break down your waste)
It is a 'feed' for your garden
It helps fight off unwanted diseases and pests
By adding to poor soils it will improve the quality; improving drainage in clay soils and retaining water in sandy soils
It saves you money!
You know exactly what's in your compost

Now that I am getting into the 'garden thing' I am always looking at ways to keep costs down, save time and money. My first compost is going to be a 'trench compost'. There is no cost involved. It's easy. You just dig a trench! Ours is very small and what they call a 'dig and drop' trench compost. We dug a hole about 30cm wide and 60cm deep, then put our kitchen scraps bokashi into the bottom of the hole, including several weeds and leaves, then covered it with the soil. This will eventually break down and we can dig it up and add to the vegie garden.

Whilst I like this idea as it's free, easy and you don't have to aerate it or sift through it, I'm not so keen about having dirt holes dotted around my garden! So I look forward to our pennies being saved and getting our rotating tumbler bin!

Give the 'dig and drop' trench a go. It will be the easiest compost you have ever made!

My compost tip - However much 'crop' you take from your garden, replace it with 2-3 times that much in compost.

Happy gardening everyone!

I will continue to blog my gardening journey here between newsletters and would love any savvy tips from members. Happy gardening everyone!

6. Best of the Vault: Rediscover Family Fun

Put all your extra time not sitting in front of a screen to good use. Read an exciting book (out loud!), play outside with the kids or indulge your creative side by getting stuck into your neglected hobbies or crafts. Rediscover your family's fun!

Our 'No Screen' story

Much to my son's horror, we started a 'No Screen' month in early January. Since doing this, we have discovered that the local library has a holiday reading program about African safaris. We also entered all three children in a local art competition, so we spent our evening collecting materials and designing things - my two year old has even made a sculpture using toilet rolls and sticks and leaves.

We all agreed to keep going until the end of January, as the family was receiving much more of my time and attention. As a bonus, all my housekeeping was done before bed, when I would usually watch TV!

Contributed by: Jo Crookes

The TV turn off

I used to come home from work, make a quick dinner and relax in front of the telly. Sadly, not only were the ads a constant temptation, but a lot of the shows were a complete waste of time! So, I have made a recent effort to switch off the box and be more productive. The things you can achieve by simply switching off are endless. So far, I have saved money by doing the following:

Repairing clothes rather than buying new ones
Making biscuits, mayonnaise, muesli and jam
Making delicious, healthy lunches for work the next day
Making big batches of pasta sauce and muffins for the freezer

The sense of achievement is fabulous, and home-made food is always healthier, cheaper and more satisfying to eat. Do you really need to watch 'The Biggest Loser'? Turn it off and make a nice loaf of banana bread instead. You can then go to bed feeling wholesome, healthy and a little bit richer.

Contributed by: Samantha Rixon

Unplugged and loving it

There has been lots of talk about 'No Screen' month, so I thought I'd share our unplugged experiences!

About three years ago, my husband accidentally broke the aerial on our TV, and we never bothered to replace it. As we were without a TV, we picked out shows to watch on the Internet instead. A few years down the track, we have stopped watching all movies and TV series, other than the occasional documentary or news program. Not only do we avoid ads, but we have noticed that our swearing is drastically reduced! By the same token, our ability to stay focused during lectures or discussions has increased dramatically. We have also eliminated all violent computer games that contained profanity.

We used to worry about taking such a strong stance against regular forms of entertainment, but it's truly been a blessing in our life. Our family spends more time together, whether it's playing games or talking around the dinner table. By doing this, we are getting to know each other better than ever before, so I hope that more and more people take up your challenge.

Contributed by: Leah Jones

'No Screen' is a relaxing money saver

Turning off the screens in our house has not only made a difference to our power bills, but has made our lives a lot more relaxing. That may sound odd, but it's true!

Having a computer screen turned on for 10 hours a day can cost up to $12 a month. At one stage we had six computers in our house, so that was up to $70 a month! By simply going into the power options on any computer, you can set the length of time a screen stays active for. These days, some computers even have a preset PowerSaver option, so look out for that.

Next, we looked at every other screen in our house. Leaving a microwave on is the same deal as the computer screen - it can cost up to $10 a month when left on standby. That's a lot to pay just so you can see the clock on your microwave! We have two convection microwaves in our kitchen, so we turned them both off and save another $20 a month...and we tell the time using the clocks on the wall!

So, how did all this make our lives more relaxed? Well, apart from saving up to $1000 a year, we were all less inclined to use the computer because we didn't 'see' it when the screen was not on. We spent our time doing more relaxing things such as reading a book or talking. Plus, by not having so many clocks staring at us, we weren't focussed on time and worrying about fitting everything into our day.

A happier family and cheaper bills - that's what this saving initiative is doing for us!

Contributed by: Marie Chandler

We don't miss TV

We're one week into 'No Screen' month, with no electronics between midday and 4pm, and then from 5.30pm until 7pm, including computers, game consoles, TVs and iPhones.

At first I thought no one would manage, particularly my husband who is always on the computer. A few times I have had to suggest that he not just read but do something with the children, but generally we have been working and playing as a family. Now, a week later, we have removed five garbage bags of rubbish from the kid's rooms and decluttered six garbage bags of clothes and toys from the house. We've also painted a bedroom, repaired a water tank pipe and learned new games.

We are coming together as a family, and most days the kids don't even turn on the TV, even when they are allowed to. As our son said yesterday 'all of tomorrow can be no TV day, as this is so much more fun.'

Contributed by: Cheri

7. Best of the Forum: Switch It Off!

Most of us know people who suffer from the dreaded 'square eyes'. This month is your chance to beat the addiction and reclaim those wasted hours. Switch that screen off and tune in to your real friends and family instead!

Creating helpful house potatoes

If you need some help implementing screen time in your household, look no further than this thread. Here Fiona has set up a support system where members can share their screen time challenges and successes. Be inspired!
read more...

War on Debt 2010 - January: No Screen Challenge

This motivating thread shows members committing to cutting back their hours plonked in front of screens. It includes some fabulous ideas of what to do with all your reclaimed time too!
read more...

2011 War on Debt - January: No Screen Month

More inspiration to help you meet the challenge.
read more...

No TV

Still stuck for fun things to do away from your screens? This thread is packed with creative ideas.
read more...

I'm banning all TV and games in our house

If you fancy going the full Monty, our members have some great experiences to share.
read more...

8. Cooking with Mimi: Almond Crusted Chicken Schnitzels and Choc Mint Rolled-Up Pav

It's No Screen Month AND it's school holidays. You really want to follow through on that promise to watch less TV, but how do you keep the kids occupied? When I was a child (back when there were dinosaurs, according to my daughter), my super creative mum forced a no screen night upon us once or twice a week. We actually looked forward to it, and it wasn't because the TV was awful back then! Our replacement was 'Not-Quite-My-Birthday Night'. There were seven of us, so this actually meant we went without TV for seven nights in the month.

Here's how it worked.

Our birthdays fell on the 4th, 6th, 11th and so on, of their respective month. So on the corresponding day of each month we not only chose what the meal would be, we'd prepare it.

Oh, the research and competition that went into Not-Quite-My-Birthday Night. We'd scour Mum's collection of New Idea and Women's Weekly for ideas, and draw upon our own history of birthday nights to recreate our favourites. This is a tradition that many of us carried into our adult lives and recreated with our own children. It's always fun and is sort of a countdown to the real deal.

Here are a couple of my daughter's favourites. Maybe they'll be become your Not-Quite-My-Birthday favourites too. Remember now, these are for the kids to prepare or at least assist in preparing. So, put your desires for a spic 'n' span kitchen on hold. You can't have everything!

Almond Crusted Chicken Schnitzels

Serves 4

Equipment required:

Baking tray
Baking paper
1 dinner plate
2 soup bowls
Fork
Sharp knife
Meat mallet

Ingredients:

1 boneless chicken breast
1/2 cup almond meal (I just whiz up some whole almonds in the food processor for this)
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1/2 cup plain flour
Salt and pepper
Cooking oil spray

To serve: You'll need about half a cup of your favourite dipping sauce. We love sweet chilli sauce or mayonnaise with a teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of mustard added... yum!

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Line the baking tray with baking paper.

Transfer your almond meal to the dinner plate so you can dip your chicken breasts into it.

Crack your egg into your soup bowl and add the milk. Give it a good whisk with your fork. Be careful that it doesn't slop over the edges. A gentle whisk is fine, no need to beat it mercilessly.

Put the flour into your other bowl. Add a pinch of salt and a shake or grind of pepper to add some flavour. You could even add chicken salt or your favourite seasoning if you like. It's your Not-Quite-Birthday, remember.

Line these up on the bench in this order: flour, egg, almond meal and cooking tray.

It's best to have Mum or another adult supervise this bit as it can be a bit tricky.

Cut each chicken breast into two thinner pieces by slicing it lengthwise. Then cut each thin piece into half. You should now have four thin pieces of chicken breast.

Give each piece a bit of a bash. Go on, get that aggression out. Make as much noise as you like. That's part of the fun.

Now for the gooey part.

With very clean hands, pick up your first piece of chicken by the edge. Dip it into your seasoned flour, making sure it's thoroughly coated, and shake off the excess. Then dip your chicken into the egg and milk mixture and let most of it dribble back into your bowl. Finally drop the chicken flat side down into the almond meal. Flip it over and pat it down, pressing the almond meal into the chicken firmly. Carefully place it onto your baking tray. Repeat with your remaining chicken.

Spray the chicken with lots of cooking oil spray, flip it over and spray the other side as well.

Pop the chicken into your preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the almond crust is nice and golden.

While it's cooking prepare your plates for serving. Add whatever salad or vegetables you like best and make them look really decorative. Lots of colour is important. Don't forget to add a little side dish with your dipping sauce in it. If you don't have little side dishes, egg cups are a good replacement or plop a blob of sauce neatly next to your salad.

When the chicken is nice and toasty golden looking, it's ready. Again, Mum or an older brother or sister should probably supervise removing them from the oven and serving them up.

Now it's your turn to call out 'DINNER'S READY!'

Don't forget to have everyone sing 'Not-Quite-Birthday-to-You'!

Of course, the very best part of your Not-Quite-My-Birthday night was the dessert because you could have anything you wanted. Predictably for us, that usually meant some form of chocolate as ingredient. My little darling is a little more sophisticated. She is also gluten sensitive, so this recipe is perfect for her and everyone else.

In cooking circles, this dessert is known as a meringue roulade. My daughter calls it rolled-up pav... 'cause that's exactly what it is! Her most favourite version is a chocolate mint flavoured one.

It's surprisingly simple for something that looks so impressive and I'm sure you're going to love it too. If you can make a sushi roll, you can make this. The best thing is that the whole thing costs under $2.00 to make and looks a million bucks!

Choc Mint Rolled-up Pav

Serves 4-6

Equipment needed:

Electric beaters
Large glass or china bowl
Measuring cups
Swiss roll tin (these are like a baking tray with a bit of a curved bottom. About $7.00 in the cooking equipment section of the supermarket)
Baking paper
Sieve
Spoon
Long platter for serving

Ingredients needed:

4 large egg whites at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar + 1 tbsp extra
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp white vinegar
300ml whipping cream
1 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp peppermint essence
Green food colouring
2 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Make a space in your refrigerator, large enough for the platter you've chosen to fit, so that your rolled up pav can chill before you serve it.

Line your Swiss roll tin with baking paper.

Kids adore separating eggs, so let them do this bit, but be prepared for a casualty or two! Cracking and separating them into a smaller bowl before transferring the whites to a larger bowl is a good strategy.

Here are the instructions:

Crack the eggs in the middle, tip all of the egg into one half of the eggshell and let the whites dribble into your glass bowl. Tip the yolk back and forth between the two eggshell halves to make sure that the white all separates properly. Pop the yolks into a sealed container to be used another day. We love making a rich custard with ours. Sometimes we use the custard as the filling for the rolled-up pav!

Using the electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they form a soft peak when you lift the beaters out. Make sure you turn the beaters off before you lift them out though, or poor Mum will be cleaning egg white off the ceiling for weeks.

Now it's time for the caster sugar, so add a quarter of a cup at a time, then beat until the egg whites look all glossy. Once all of the sugar is used up, beat in the cornflour and white vinegar. Finally add the peppermint essence and just a drop or two of your green food colouring. You're aiming for pastel green, not witchy green! Then again, it's your Not-Quite-My-Birthday, so if witchy green is your thing, so be it.

Spread the thick sugary meringue evenly over the base of the Swiss roll tin and into the oven it goes. Bake it for 15 minutes or until it's light brown on top. While it's baking, clean up your bowl and your electric beaters so you can use them to whip your cream.

After 15 minutes, ask Mum or another older person to help you remove the meringue from the oven, and allow it to cool in the tray.

While it's cooling, pour your cream into your bowl. Whip it with your electric beaters until you get those same soft peaks when you lift the beaters out... remember to turn them off first! Add your cocoa and extra sugar and beat until combined. Don't beat the cream too much now or you'll end up with chocolate butter.

Very carefully slide your flat pav out of its tray, leaving it on the baking paper.

Spread your choccy cream all over the meringue. None of that 'pretending I got some on my finger' so you can lick it either, please!

Here's the fun bit, and don't be too precious about it.

Grab the long edge of the baking paper closest to you on the bench and flip the meringue edge over onto the top side of the pav, to start rolling it up. Imagine you're making a sushi roll or rolling up your beach towel. Your meringue may crack in places, but that's okay. Keep rolling gently, using the baking paper to guide the roll over. Finish it with the edges of the roll underneath and slide it onto a long platter.

Pop it into your space you've cleared in the refrigerator and allow it to chill for at least an hour.

When you're ready to serve it, spoon your icing sugar into your sieve and use the back of your spoon to press the sugar through the little holes and over the top of your rolled up pav. Cover it well so it looks like snow.

Use a sharp knife to cut slices from your rolled up pav, and serve them on small plates.

See how pretty it looks? And it tastes even better!

Clever you!

If chocolate mint isn't your thing, leave the peppermint essence and the green colouring out and cover your pav with custard, plain cream and grated chocolate; jam and cream or pureed fruit and double cream. Heck, you could do thick Greek yoghurt and chopped jelly beans if you like that. Whatever!

Happy Not-Quite-My-Birthday!

9. Penny's Blog: Happy New Year!

Greetings one and all! Huge apologies for not posting all month, I guess Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a few dramas! They say things come in threes and I think we have well and truly had our three 'things' now. The first 'present' I received was glandular fever, which while rather inconvenient was a great relief to finally have an answer to my months of erratic health. By the time I was diagnosed I was spending every second day in bed. Makes it kind of hard to plan your festive season but it's certainly one way to save money on socialising! My only hope was that I would be well enough to cook Christmas dinner for mine and Noel's family. Little did I know that we would soon be two guests down when my mum was rushed into hospital for an emergency knee replacement! She was allowed home in time for Christmas but was understandably not up to travelling to our place, so numbers were now down to just the four of us, plus Noel's mum and dad.

Christmas morning arrived and it was nice to see the boys still up early, excitedly opening their stockings. The tradition of years gone by goes something along the lines of Noel cooking everyone a massive breakfast, then sitting down to open our presents. However, this year was a little different. Breakfast done and dusted, meat in the oven and vegetables prepared for lunch, we were just about to crack open the bubbly and get on with the present opening - and the phone rang. It was the neighbours who were feeding Noel's parents' dog at their home an hour and a half away. Apparently the 12 year old dog hadn't moved in 24 hours and was unable to get up and the neighbours said the poor thing needed to be put out of its misery. As Noel's parents weren't due back home for another four days the job fell to Noel to go to their house and dig a hole so he could be buried at home. With a heavy heart he set off for the 90 minute drive in horrendous traffic, leaving poor Liam and Ali desperate to open presents but not wanting their dad to miss out on the present opening ceremony. He arrived at his destination and duly dug the hole, which was a rather large, time consuming hole as Carter the dog is a rather large Labrador. He then went to find the dog. Who upon seeing Noel promptly got up, took a pee on his car wheel and proceeded to set off for a leisurely walk around the garden. Looks like he was just sulking as he missed his owners! Noel rang us in fits of laughter and told us the good news before setting off back home for another 90 minute drive and at 2pm that afternoon Liam and Ali were finally able to open their presents and we all drank a toast to Carter and his remarkable Christmas 'resurrection!'

Boxing Day dawned bright and sunny so we all headed off down to the beach for a day of surfing and beach cricket. It was lovely to see Noel's dad playing cricket with the boys as just a few months before he had come through a massive heart operation - one which there had been a very strong chance he wouldn't survive. In 20 years of being part of the family I had never seen my in-laws look so relaxed and happy. Call it a hunch but I wanted to remember the moment so I took heaps of photos of them that day, including this one on Boxing Day night.

I was so very glad I took those photos because the next morning the phone rang at 7am. It was Noel's mum, telling us that Noel's dad had suffered a stroke and was being rushed to hospital in an ambulance. He couldn't talk or comprehend things properly but he did still have movement in his arms and legs. We were stunned - how could this happen? Mercifully the doctors told us this was as bad as he would get and his chances of recovery were good. He is now at home and his speech is returning - although for a few days there he did delight in doing impressions of Liam, his 15-year-old grandson who talks mainly in grunts as most teenage boys do!

So I think that's three things well and truly covered. On the whole, 2011 has been a great year. The $21 Challenge is on sale in America, how cool is that! Last New Year's Eve 2010 I weighed 72kg. This New Year's Eve I weigh in at 54kg. Sure, having glandular fever and running a marathon has had an effect as you would expect but really and truly it's all down to the SS lifestyle. No takeaways, no processed foods - just good home cooking and daily walks on the beach. Two of my favourite Christmas presents were Jamie Oliver's '30 Minute Meals' and NZ's Annabel Langbein's 'Free Range in the City' cook books. They are awesome and we've been having a ball using all sorts of yummy home grown produce and herbs from the garden. Anyone who has read my blog over the past few months will know it has been a tough year financially for us but our vegie gardens have really come into their own now and are saving us money every single day. If you have never done it I really can vouch, hand on heart that trotting out to pick beans, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, basil - anything - in your own backyard is one of the most rewarding feelings you can have. At this time of year when Whangamata is crazy full of people it is a real joy not to have to queue in the supermarket for hours with all the holiday makers. As usual our house pretty much looks like a youth hostel at the moment and once again our garden is proving itself indispensable. We love serving up delicious, nutritious food to the never ending tribe of boys each night and listening to all the appreciative munching. The only problem is, I think we're doing too good a job of feeding them - they keep coming back! But we wouldn't have it any other way. Although it will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings. Yes, our household Screen Time challenge starts tomorrow! I can't wait to tell the boys!

Best wishes from us all for a very happy and prosperous 2012!

10. Homeopathy Corner: I Thought I Was a Goner

Sometimes patients are told their situation is hopeless and last ditch surgery is their only chance of recovery. This is what happened to Fran's patient, Max. Everyone thought he was a goner, including Max himself. Then Fran found the perfect remedy for his situation. To read Max's story in his own words, click here:

homeopathyplus.com.au/pneumonia-with-collapsed-lung-i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-maxs-story

11. From Last Month: An Overabundance of Hankies

Last month Delma asked:

"Over the past two years I have lost a mother and mother-in-law. These two women were real 'ladies' and I have been left with boxes and boxes of beautiful packaged handkerchiefs - has anyone any suggestions on how I could use these individually? Incidentally they both did use hankies, but there were way too many for them! We travel in our caravan and I was wondering whether I could incorporate these in an appreciation gift? We often have someone do a kindness for us and like to repay them with a thank you gift. I am quite handy with a sewing machine and would love some ideas."

If you have ever wondered what you can do with your spare hankies, wonder no more! We received such a huge response to Delma's request that unfortunately there is no way we can print them all but we can certainly give you plenty of ideas, especially if you can sew! For example, you can stitch them together and turn them into:

Cushion cover
Table cloth
Table runner
Bunting
Herb or pot pourri sachets
Pillowcase
Quilt cover/bedspread
Heat pack
Apron
Plastic bag holder
Doll's quilt
Diary/journal cover
Coat hanger cover
A 'non-slip' cover for bars of soap

Or for some great no-sew ideas and gift ideas with a difference, how about these:

Beautiful baking

If you like baking you could use a hankie, lined with wrap (so as not to stain the hankie), gathered at the top and tied attractively, to present someone with a perfectly useful, wrapped thank you treat.

Contributed by: Robyn Barnes

Bag it up

Hankies make a gorgeous wrapping for a small gift if you are travelling. Depending on the recipient, some suggestions could be some Lindt chocolate balls inside a hankie, tied up with a pretty ribbon, some lovely tea bags or coffee sachets again tucked inside a hankie and tied up with a ribbon. You could wrap the hankie either like wrapping paper, or bundle the gift up and pull all the corners up together like a bag.

Contributed by: Sharynne Dubridge

Make someone's day

My friend gives home-made hankies as gifts to friends and strangers. She pops them in their letterboxes along with a note saying 'someone thought about you today'. Years ago she put one in each of the letterboxes in her street. The note read, 'Margery at number 9 is thinking of you and praying you are well' one recipient got it the day she arrived home from a stint in hospital. She felt so alone and that no-one cared. This brightened her no-end and they later formed a friendship. Random kindness through something simple as a hankie.

Contributed by: Phoebe Hicks

Discover the 'gami' world

Introduce your hankies to the 'gami' world - origami and kirigami. You can Google the Net for free patterns for folding fabric. I usually start with this site. I have seen pictures where the origami quilts have been added to a plain skirt or dress to make it look stunning.

Contributed by: Lani Dahanayake

Lavender parasols

My sister's mother-in-law, Nanna Cass is 99 years old. She is an adorable lady who had many great craft ideas. I remember her lovely idea for making (closed) lavender parasols using a handkerchief, pipe cleaner and some dried lavender. I hope my description does it justice.

Lay the handkerchief flat on the table and place a small mound of dried lavender in the middle, place the tip of a pipe cleaner in the centre of the handkerchief and draw the handkerchief up around the pipe cleaner about half way up. The lavender needs to be enough to puff out the hanky a little like a parasol.

Leaving some of the pipe cleaner sticking out for the handle, tie a ribbon tightly around the handkerchief to hold the lavender in and tie ends into a bow. Bend the handle end of the pipe cleaner into a hook shape for the handle.

Tie a little cotton or ribbon around the top of the parasol about one centimeter from the top to make the point of the parasol.

Parasols can be used in your delicates drawer, can be hung in your wardrobe with some ribbon attached, placed in your shoe cupboard or put in the car - anywhere you would like the lovely smell of lavender!

Contributed by: Susan Warren

Give a lasting keepsake

It may be a little bit late for Delma but when we cleaned out my mother's house as she was going into a nursing home we also found lots of unopened boxes of dainty hankies. When she died my sister-in-law washed and ironed them and had them in a little basket to hand out at the funeral. It was a lovely touch and made a nice little keepsake for us to take home.

Contributed by: Kathy Anderson

A-a-a-atchooo!

For a thoughtful 'get well' gift, purchase a small bottle of eucalyptus oil and wrap it up with a couple of the hankies. This makes a nice little gift to give someone with a cold.

Contributed by: Sharon Fergusson

Helpful hanky websites

Go to this link which has lots of ideas for using handkerchiefs. There are lots of things you can use them for!

Contributed by: Caroline Towers

I came across this website the other day and it has lots of lovely things to make. This was one that intrigued me and it seemed easy enough, you could also use them as part of the gift wrap - rufflesandstuff.com/2010/03/handkerchief-rosette-how-to.html. I also saw some banners that could be made from the hankies too, depending on the pattern could be festive at a party - www.etsy.com/listing/83833591/the-sweetest-christmas-winnie-the-pooh.

Contributed by: Vicky Baker

A huge thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions for Delma. We really appreciate your help!

12. This Month's Help Request: Healthy Lunchbox Options

This month Christine asks:

"Would it be possible to ask if other members know of some lunch box fillers that are healthy and don't need to be cooked? I am battling with some weight issues with my girls and would love to know of some successful healthy options from other parents, as well as any tips of how they combat their children just swapping what they don't like for 'junk' food!"

If you have any tips or suggestions which can help Christine, please send them in to us here.

13. Saving Story: My $50 Christmas!

After looking at the Forum threads on how much everyone was spending for Christmas, I thought I would do a quick tally and am overjoyed to report that I have completed a 'no spend/ low spend' Christmas challenge without even realising it. Thanks to mystery shopping, competition wins, surveys, freebie links from SS and some competitive shopping throughout the year, my total outlay for Christmas including food will be $39.95 plus about $12 in postage ($51.95). The food aspect is for my immediate family of five but gifts were for my three girls (including Santa), my 13 nieces and nephews and their parents, our four parents, my great auntie together with her two adult children and her one grandchild and my two close friends.

The $39.95 spent was for my sister who goes all out for my girls at Christmas and birthdays. I purchased an online voucher to buy an Italian Hamper worth $132 (including delivery). All other gifts and food were purchased using gift vouchers from surveys and store credits/bonus for previous purchases. In the last two months, I have attended a number of free fashion shows as a VIP and came away with goodie bags filled with cosmetics and samples. There were also a lot of freebies through links from this site which made a lovely hamper of goodies for my great auntie and my mother - although I'm not sure they were fussed on the little lace g-string but it gave them a good laugh!

I also had a number of competition wins throughout the year which I stashed away for various gifts for my husband and daughters. Some of my wins include an Enjoy flameless candle, various movie tickets, a bottle of wine, coffee, Jamie Oliver chopping board, DVD's, cosmetics, jewellery, clothing, Coles/Myer vouchers, Wish cards, $120 shopping centre gift cards, $40 Westfield gift cards and several other prizes.

During the year we needed to replace our washing machine, so after shopping around online, I had the Good Guys match the best online price but they also had an in-store promotion going which included a free iron, $100 store credit and a year's worth of OMO washing powder. The money I have saved on washing powder would easily be more than the $51.95 I ended up spending on the hamper and postage of other gifts. The $100 Good Guys credit was used to purchase iTunes cards in their 'buy 2 get 1 free' promotion, which took care of the older nieces and nephews.

Thanks to mystery shopping I was able to do a number of candle, tea, stationery, Body Shop, Freedom, cosmetics and grocery shops where I was not only paid but reimbursed for a purchase that I was allowed to keep. These purchases have taken care of the adults in the family. On top of this, I helped everyone sign up for free $10 Stockland vouchers, Banditfm $30 vouchers, Warners Bros DVDs and Snapfish photo blocks. None of my family have the time or the inclination to search out freebies online, so they were more than happy for me to organise this for them.

For myself I turned to Gumtree and found a trainee hairdresser looking for models for a full head of foils. I had not been to the hairdresser in over a year and this was a real treat and even better I was invited back for a second lot of foils six weeks later, all for free and then a further visit for a free haircut. All my cosmetic needs this year have been covered by mystery shopping jobs, including two full makeovers that came with $80 worth of products each.

I also signed up as an online VIP for every favourite store that I knew provided birthday gift cards for both myself and my husband. The best was Tarocash who provided a $50 voucher with no minimum spend and I waited for the sales to purchase two shirts for hubby for Christmas. My SS Secret Santa present (although this will be giving myself away) was purchased in the sales, using my $20 Sportscraft birthday voucher.

I think with the money I have saved or in this case not spent, I could justify buying the food processor that I have had my eye on and that has just been reduced to $129 and comes with salt and pepper grinders and a $10 store voucher! Of course the voucher will be used to start my Christmas Challenge for next year!

Contributed by: Raych Case

14. So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Wow! Didn't we manage to cram a whole bunch of money saving ideas into this month's newsletter? I hope you really enjoyed it and have been inspired to try something new.

Best of luck with your Screen Time Challenge. See you next month!

All the best,
Fiona

December 2014 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - December 2014

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Dear Diary
December: Needs, Not Wants
Penny Wise: The Christmassiest Christmas Ever!
Best of the Vault: I'm Dreaming of a Wise Christmas!
Best of the Forum: Have a Spend-Spree-Free Christmas
Best Members' Blog: Challenge Success!
Mimi's Salted Caramel and Ginger Chicken Thigh Cutlets
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Seed Saving Tips
From Last Month: Caravanning in Comfort
This Month's Help Request: Help Me Plan 2015

Hello,

How are you going? Christmas is almost here and we wish you and your families a peaceful and happy Christmas!

We love hearing from you - your savings stories and tips make my day! Here are some of my favourites this month:

"I really love the Simple Savings newsletters and all of the hints I receive. I could not live without them. Thank you for the great work you all do. I can't believe that Simple Savings has been going for 12 years and I certainly hope for many, many more years to come." (Julie B)

"As a mum to a young family, and with the help of Simple Savings, we are learning to spend sensibly and live a different kind of 'normal'. Now it is 'normal' for us to have home-cooked meals every night and takeaway is a great treat once a month. It is 'normal' for my husband and kids to take lunch from home rather than buy it every day or have tuckshop. We are saving more money than I would ever have thought we could - thank you Simple Savings." (Mikki)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. The Simple Savings 2015 Calendar is now ready and we hope you love the changes we've made this year! You can download it here.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Dear Diary

"Have you got a minute Chlo?" Sally peered round the door. "Oh hi! Yes of course," smiled Chloe. "I just wanted your opinion on this Christmas present I got for my stuck-up sister." "Sounds intriguing! Show me," Chloe grinned, putting out her hands. "I went Christmas shopping with Hanna the other day. I picked up this book in one of the local handy craft shops. It's just a notebook but..." Sally blushed, passing Chloe a pretty fabric covered book. "She told me she WANTED a Trent Nathan bangle but I thought she'd enjoy this."

"Nothing wrong with that, it's gorgeous!" Chloe said. "Open it," Sally nodded. Chloe carefully turned the pages and found Sally had turned the notebook into a diary for her sister - but it was no ordinary diary. She had lovingly filled each page with little cut-outs of photos of her children, her friends, thoughtful messages, jokes to make her laugh, favourite recipes - there were even quirky little extras such as a special teabag and a $5 note with 'Today you are taking a book to a coffee shop and just watching the world go by' written to accompany it.

"Sally - wow! This is amazing," breathed Chloe. "It must have taken you ages!" "It did," laughed Sally. "My sister is one of those people who always adds up the cost of gifts. Do you think this book is enough, or should I buy her something as well?" she frowned. "Are you kidding?" Chloe said, still thumbing through the book in wonder. "Sal this is a gift to be really proud of! It may not have cost much but anyone can see the amount of love and effort gone into it!" "Thank you," Sally smiled in relief. "And do you know something else? This is the first year EVER I haven't had to resort to the credit card!"

2. December: Needs, Not Wants

There are many different beliefs and traditions surrounding Christmas. However, one thing is for certain; right from the very first Christmas ever, it was intended to be marked as a time of joy and celebration, not a time of sadness, stress and debt. It's pretty doubtful that after bestowing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh on the baby Jesus, the three wise men would have had to run off to their bank manager, caps in hand and say, 'Sorry, we got a little carried away!'

If the thought of more debt or the threat of overspending is already putting a damper on your festive spirit, now is the time to take action and make this year different. Christmas after Christmas we allow ourselves to fall victim to marketing, to peer pressure, to buy more than we can afford, when in truth, all we need to do is be like the three wise men - choose our gifts with meaning, give them with love and give only what we can. When you think about it that way, it's ridiculously easy!

Here's what we want you to do - grab a pen and paper and write down everyone you bought presents for last Christmas. Now you're going to have to put your big girl pants on - are you ready?

Cross off those people that you haven't seen this year - really. If you can't be bothered actually catching up with them, why are you buying them a gift? Send a Christmas card today and wish them a merry Christmas, and that you're looking forward to catching up in 2015. You've let them know that you don't expect to be exchanging gifts this Christmas.
Now you're going to look at the families you usually buy individual gifts for. No more worrying about trying to find that FANTASTIC gift for that teenage boy or the ten-year-old girl who has EVERYTHING because you are going to get something thoughtful for the WHOLE family. A beach hamper, a movie hamper, perhaps a moderately priced 'family adventure' somewhere. A quick email lets the other party know you're giving them a joint gift this year so they can change their own plans if necessary. A new tradition has to start somewhere!
Now you're going to look at your own extended family and think of ways to lessen the burden of giving everyone a gift. Think of ideas such as buying only for the children under 18, a $10 lucky dip for each person, secret Santa or devise your own unique raffle/auction! In fact, this might be the BEST Christmas yet!
For the elderly people in your family, nothing is better than something from your heart. These people know what a true 'gift' is - it's your time, it's memories, it's photos and words that mean something. Enlist the help of the younger members of the family to make some new memories for Nana and Pop.
For the gifts you simply have to buy, just stop and think. Just because someone wants a $100 bottle of perfume or an expensive watch, doesn't mean YOU need to buy it for them. Take a moment to think of something they might need that is within your budget - we bet you'd be surprised at what you come up with!

So be kind to yourselves this year. Buy only what you need to. Spend only what you need to. And relax this Christmas, safe in the knowledge that you are doing the very best for you and your loved ones.

For some fantastic ideas to make you feel all warm and fuzzy and show how you can create a wonderful festive atmosphere and an unforgettable Christmas, please check out our newsletter archive HERE and HERE

Make this year the Christmas for change, just like Sally!

3. Penny Wise: The Christmassiest Christmas Ever!

Good grief, where to start?! What a hectic few weeks it's been. Overnight I seem to have turned into the stereotypical suburban TV 'mom', working three jobs to put shoes on her children's feet. Not even kidding about the shoes part! Life is busy and there is/has been so much going on I couldn't possibly write it all in one post but hopefully I will get a chance to catch up over the course of the week as some of it is quite special, at least in my mind.

But for now, I must turn my attention to the present! Going out to work has been very good for me, I think. After years of being the eternal cruiser, working from home and doing whatever whenever, I finally have to have some semblance of organisation in my life and get the most out of each precious hour. Turns out I'm actually getting quite good at it too! Mind you, with the crazy hours I work, it would cost me a lot of money if I wasn't organised. I also really appreciate my days off and endeavour to make the most of each one, whereas when I was at home all the time, one day was very much like another. Even the boys have noticed the difference and we all seem to appreciate the times we are all together more. Financially it's still a struggle and will continue to be for some time but we are pottering along quite happily and the main thing is, we are all trying, we are all doing our bit. Liam has got a job as a 'jack of all trades' at a motel in town and is working for a lovely couple and their staff six days a week doing whatever needs doing - groundsman, painting, cleaning the pool, gardening, laundry just to name a few. He's learning heaps, enjoying each challenge and it's a great way for him to learn and become confident in a lot of new domestic skills for when he goes away to uni in February! Ali finished school last week and is about to start his summer job as a waiter and barista in one of the local cafes. The three of us are a little like ships in the night and it's only going to get busier over the next couple of months but the times we do get to see each other is lovely.

It's funny how your mindset can change in the blink of an eye. This time a couple of weeks ago I had decided we wouldn't be having Christmas this year. I was feeling so hopeless, so despondent and a terrible parent and provider. How could I give my beloved boys a decent Christmas when there is no money in the kitty for presents or even for a decent Christmas dinner? What changed my mind? That's a whole other blog and one I intend to share soon but all of a sudden I realised that it didn't matter if we didn't have many presents. It didn't matter if we didn't have a traditional Christmas dinner. We could eat what the heck we liked! The important thing was that we had each other and that we had FUN. One of my favourite Simple Savings newsletters ever is from a few years back and talks about creating the perfect Christmas, how it is all about the festive atmosphere, the sounds and the smells. I realised we didn't need money to have all that; we already have everything we need! We have the tree, we have the decorations, we have the lights, we have the oranges and cloves, the angel and Christmas tree biscuit cutters to make shortbread and the hideous but hilarious array of corny Christmas CD's. These are the things which make Christmas Christmassy, not the presents! So what if we can't afford a traditional dinner; we'll cook a barbecue instead and all be chefs, it will be way more fun! This year is Liam's last official 'kid Christmas at home' and I'm determined to make it the best one ever! If anyone has any ideas they would like to share to help us make our 'low-cost or no-cost' Christmas extra special, please let us know!

I'm even getting organised with presents and have a couple stashed away already, which is unheard of for me! I also have set a budget and am sticking to it - well, I have to really, when it's gone it's gone and there's nothing else! But I think the boys will be happy. Apart from one ridiculously impractical gift for Liam, which I know he will love and have pride of place in his room at uni, everything else is things they either need or can use. Now they're young adults that's the way they like it anyway; their days of having rooms and shelves full of meaningless 'stuff' are long gone. Even Liam's Christmas 'stocking' has a use! I wasn't going to do stockings this year but then I spotted someone selling steel Corona (beer) buckets for $2.50 on our Facebook Buy and Sell page and I thought I would fill it with goodies and it would make a rather stylish rubbish bin for his room at uni!

We have a family wishlist for things we want or need which we pin up in the kitchen and have been having a good chuckle at the things listed on it. Far from being extravagant or whimsical we have things such as 'NEW TOWELS!' (almost all of ours are worn into holes, I will definitely have to get Liam some more presentable ones to take away with him!) 'NEW FRYING PAN!' (we hate our frying pan with a passion; for some reason these days any food you attempt to cook in it refuses to stay in the middle and rolls or puddles around the outside. Makes for some very interesting shaped fried eggs I can tell you!), 'NEW BULB FOR SECURITY LIGHT' (at $18 a pop we never seem to find it important enough to replace) and my personal favourite 'FIX THE LEAKY BATH TAP!' What an exciting bunch of crazy kids we are!

I guess we do at least have our photo board, which is one fun family project we want to work on for Christmas and will cost very little. These days when everyone has cameras on their phones, everyone is always busy snapping potshots of everything from hilarious photos of each other to endearing pics of family pets and goodness knows what else. Some of these can be classics or truly beautiful but they rarely make it off the phones to be enjoyed anywhere and by anyone other than the photographer. On looking through our phones last week the boys and I realised we had amassed a wonderful collection and decided we needed somewhere to display them. A friend of mine was giving away a huge pinboard for free on (where else!) Facebook Buy and Sell and I signed up to an online photo printing store who were giving away 40 free prints just for signing up. Now all we have to do is choose our 40 prints and wait for them to be delivered. Putting them all together with the boys is going to be fun! I'm also going to check out the op shops for board games and puzzles we can do together and Liam is excitedly downloading karaoke songs on his Playstation. Last time we played Singstar together the boys' voices hadn't even broken! I can't wait to hear the difference when they attempt to sing the same songs from over a decade ago, I have a feeling it's going to be hilarious!

Who knows what else Christmas Day is going to bring but at least now I'm totally relaxed about it. We have nobody to please or impress except each other and because of that I am finally going to get the opportunity to do something I have always wanted to do. Every year our local Lions Club organises an enormous Christmas dinner at the club where I work for those who are less fortunate or on their own. I've always wanted to volunteer my time on Christmas Day to help someone else enjoy the kind of Christmases I was lucky enough to grow up with and this year I've put my hand up to help out. If the boys are not visiting their dad they'll be coming along too. I can't think of a more Christmassy thing to do!

For the next few months at least, life is only going to get busier, so I apologise in advance if blogs are a little few and far between! Should you have a burning desire to know what is going on in the chaotic world of the Wise clan, you are very welcome to follow the 'real me' on Facebook (hint: it's the same name as on the $21 Challenge book). Otherwise I shall attempt to bring everyone up to date on all the news here soon!

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page.

...or in our Members' Blog section.

4. Best of the Vault: I'm Dreaming of a 'Wise' Christmas!

With every purchase this Christmas, stop and ask yourself, 'Why am I buying this?' If it's to impress someone or because of guilt about giving a 'GREAT' present, well, maybe you need to think again. Try some of these great ideas from the Vault - remember, the (reindeer!) buck stops with you!

Make heart-shaped cushions for little girls

I came up with this lovely idea for a low-cost birthday present when money was tight. My daughter was invited to a birthday party but we couldn't afford to buy a present at the time. So we looked through my old material scraps and found some silvery stretchy material and some Dacron and made a lovely heart-shaped cushion. We decorated it with buttons (spares that came with new clothes) that I had saved in a variety of girly colours and lastly added a ribbon (saved off another gift).

With all the materials already at home it cost me nothing, but even if you had to buy the bits and pieces, with careful shopping for offcuts of material it would still cost well under $10 to make. The pillow looked fantastic and the six-year-old recipient loved it, saying it was her favourite present of all that she had received! It was a great lesson to see that those handmade personal gifts are appreciated much more than shop-bought mass produced items. We now plan to repeat this exercise at Christmas, when we will make more personalised cushions for our family and friends!

Contributed by: Kerry Pope

Stylish wall art from Wordle

I decorated my daughter's room with some fantastic new wall art, without spending a cent! Wordle is a website where you can type in whatever words or phrases you like and it will then put them on a page randomly. I typed in the word 'dance' and Wordle turned my words into word art. I printed it out, then stuck it onto a piece of cardboard to fit inside a picture frame I already had. I then got various photos of my daughter dancing in costume and stuck them around. I popped the finish piece into the frame and it looks terrific! Have a go at making your own super cheap wall art by going to http://www.wordle.net.

Contributed by: Miss A

Funky denim bag from old jeans

Bring new life to an old pair of jeans and make a funky denim bag! Cut the legs off and sew the openings together inside out, then turn in the right way. That makes the 'bag'. To make a long handle, sew the two legs together then sew to the bag, or sew one leg to each side for two shorter handles. Put some Velcro or a button on the inside to clip together. You can add a scarf or a belt for a more personal touch. Jeans can also be used to make cushions.

Contributed by: Wahine

'Practical Santa' gets back to basics and eases the pressure

Last Christmas Santa gave our four kids practical presents that they could use all year round! He realised that mums and dads have a lot of expenses leading up to the new school year and that the Christmas period can actually be quite a stressful time. So he helped out by getting our kids some lovely new lunch boxes, flash new drink flasks, fancy looking containers for their litter-less lunch, cool new Band-Aids, and some brilliant new bathers! There wasn't a toy in sight and our kids certainly didn't miss them. This meant there was no need for another big annual clear-out of all the unwanted clutter! I'm grateful to Santa, and hope he can find some other handy things for the kids this year. Christmas isn't about expensive gifts; it's about spending quality time with the special people in your life.

Contributed by: Kylie Parish

$60 sandpit not a money pit

We built a sandpit for our boys for just $60 with some free planks of wood from the local dump, black plastic from the hardware store ($30) and a trailer load of sand from the quarry ($30). The pit is built under their swing set and has made a great cheap alternative to the expensive ready-made sandpits, bringing my boys hours of fun.

Contributed by: Melissa Roos

5. Best of the Forum: Have a Spend-Spree-Free Christmas!

There is still time to organise a stress-and-spend-spree-free Christmas! Here are some great ideas from Forum members that are big on thoughtfulness and small on price.

Christmas at home - ideas please

Christmas at home without extended family doesn't need to be second best - now's the chance to create new traditions to enjoy.
read more...

Zero budget Christmas challenge

Look no further than GoGo Goanna's thread for some fantastic ideas for your own low budget Christmas.
read more...

Stocking fillers for older boys - free or very cheap

Some great ideas on how to fill those stockings for the young men in the family!
read more...

What can I buy my 82-year-old grandpa for Christmas?

It can be hard to buy gifts for elderly relatives but here are some great ideas to help make Christmas Day special.
read more...

6. Best Members' Blog: Challenge Success!

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Lil ol' Me for doing a successful $21 Challenge AND for her delicious home-made Christmas gifts!

"Yay! Challenge achieved! We did it...and easily. My weekly shopping last week for our family of six was $50. I'm quietly thrilled! The kids had no idea what was going on and went about the week as normal in complete ignorance.

I was inspired after using the Coles online shopping tool to check on prices and in particular, unit pricing. So I created an Excel sheet one night and checked all the items I usually buy and went searching for the best prices on these. I found a few gems, and hopefully this will reduce our spending even further.

I've just come back from shopping for this week and spent $93.55 which has included everything we need for the week to feed six of us.

Here's our dinner menu:

Tacos
Cottage pie topped with potato gems
Baked potatoes (with ham, cheese, tomato, pineapple and beetroot)
Vegie and bacon pasta bake
Quiche with oven fries and vegies
Home-made pizza
Fish with oven fries and vegies

Everyone will have sandwiches for lunches and I'll be making yoghurt for use in smoothies, ice blocks and snacking. I'll bake blueberry muffins and white choc & raspberry muffins, some choc fudge biscuits from the $21 Challenge book, and we have lots of fruit both fresh and tinned. I have ingredients for more baking if needed but all up, it should be another great week to top up our savings. I never considered us one of 'those families' that could feed ourselves on so little but we're getting there!

My BF planted out our vegie patch two weeks ago so hopefully over summer that will keep the spend low. His sister gave him a Bunnings voucher for his birthday recently, so the vegie patch has cost us nothing except for TLC.

Christmas is fast approaching and I found myself with a little spare time and inclination last week so after searching on Google and Simple Savings, I whipped up the following as gifts for teachers and friends. A big thank you to Mimi for your posts last year for gift ideas - I used a lot of them!

From left to right, limoncello, vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, salted caramel pots, boozy choc jaffa liqueur and after dinner mint liqueur. I can't wait to box these up closer to Christmas with some additional shortbread.

Lots of big ticks all round!"

Well done, Lil ol' Me. We think you have done a fantastic job with your Challenges and Christmas goodies!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

7. Mimi's Salted Caramel and Ginger Chicken Thigh Cutlets

Chicken thigh cutlets are so inexpensive and delicious and vastly underrated as a family meal.

A tray of 6-8 thigh cutlets on the bone rarely costs more than about $6.00 where I live.

They look a little more substantial when served than a lonely thigh fillet does and the bone adds a bit of flavour oomph too.

This recipe is one I came up with when I had run out of honey and wanted to do a marinade for the cutlets that night. The old combo of honey, soy and ginger is pretty hard to beat! I'd been browsing salted caramel sauce for Christmas gifts and thought that a similar combination of flavours would probably work. After all, it's just brown sugar, salt and cream or butter... how could that not be awesome? Add the ginger which marries so well with chicken and we're onto something.

If, like us, you find that idea of honey, soy and ginger appealing, then you'll find this as yummy as we do. It's not something you'd eat every day given the combination of the sugar and butter, but as a special meal, it's a winner.

It's best to start preparing these at least an hour before baking them, and the night before or that morning is even better to give the flavours a chance to permeate the chicken.

You need:

1-2 chicken thigh cutlets per person (one is enough for my daughter and I, but husband prefers two)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1dsp minced or grated fresh ginger
Pinch of salt

Then just:

Line a baking tray with paper or foil and set aside.

Lay the chicken cutlets on the tray and poke holes in the flesh with a sharp knife to allow the marinade to really flavour the meat.

Run your fingers between the skin and the flesh to loosen the skin slightly, without separating it from the cutlet.

Combine the softened butter, brown sugar, ginger and salt to a smooth paste.

With clean hands, take a small ball of the paste and push it under the skin of the chicken cutlet. Smooth it with your fingers so it covers the surface of the thigh cutlet, sitting between the skin and the meat. Blot the skin of the chicken dry with a paper towel and press a second ball of the paste over the surface of the skin. So now you have the mouthwatering salted caramel and ginger paste between the meat and the skin, as well as on the surface of the skin.

Place the tray in the refrigerator and let the marinade paste do its job.

When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180C fan forced or 190C normal and place the chicken cutlets in the oven. Bake for about 45-60 minutes depending on your oven. I bake mine for nearly an hour in a fan forced oven so that they're all brown and bubbly. Brush the marinade back onto the chicken as it dribbles down the sides.

The butter and sugar will caramelise as the chicken cooks, creating a gorgeous sticky coating that is a treat for the senses.

Serve with a crunchy coleslaw and steamed baby potatoes or steamed rice.

Very, very YUM!

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

8. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Seed Saving Tips

Seed saving tips

We've had a lot of plants go to seed in our various gardens over the past month or so and I thought some folks might like a bit of a look at the seeds that have been collected. More importantly, I would also like to pass on a few tips and information on saving seeds to those thinking about saving seeds for the first time. All the varieties we're collecting at the moment mature on the plants and require very little processing. To begin with, saving seeds is a very straight forward process; however, a few basic guidelines need to be followed when it comes to some varieties. This is to ensure that plants will provide seeds that will grow true to type and with vigour.

Cross breeding

In some plant families different varieties will easily cross pollinate with others resulting in hybrid seeds that will not grow true to type (the same as the parent plants the seed came from). If you intend on saving seeds for the next growing season, it's a good idea to only let one member of the family flower at one time. The cucurbit family (including cucumber, melons, squash and pumpkin) is a great example of this with many commonly grown plants easily crossing with each other. These plants have both male and female flowers (called imperfect flowers) and require pollen from the male flower to be delivered to the female flower. If you are looking to save seeds from plants like this it's a good idea to either grow one variety at a time to ensure seed purity or to cover them with netting and hand pollinate until you have some fruit set that you can save seeds from for the next season. Below is a look at how to hand pollinate the larger cucurbit flowers such as squash, pumpkins and zucchini for those that are curious.

Another tip for the larger flowers like zucchini, is to tie the female flower closed with a bit of wool or twine after hand pollinating. This will stop bees and other insects from delivering pollen that might have come from a different member of the family. I haven't tried this method myself but have been told that it does work.

Inbreeding depression

One other thing you need to be careful with when saving seeds from some plants is 'inbreeding depression'. Simply put, inbreeding depression is where the gene pool of a given plant type is limited and mutations/lack of vigour can start to occur in subsequent generations. There is a great PDF download from "The Siskiyou Permaculture Resource Group" that includes the number of plants you need to grow to prevent inbreeding depression in vegies commonly grown in backyards, as well as other information you might find useful. Some plants like tomatoes, capsicum/peppers, cucurbits, beans, peas, lettuce and radish show no inbreeding depression and it's fine for the home gardener to save seeds from a single or small number of these plants for the next crop.

The cabbage family of plants (Brassica oleracea which includes cabbage, cauliflower, kale broccoli and brussel sprouts) is one family we grow and is susceptible to inbreeding depression.

To guard against inbreeding depression we let a group of six 'Waltham' broccoli plants go to flower to ensure that the genetics would be varied. While this was the minimum number recommended by many I think if we introduce a few plants grown from another source every few years we will be able to keep the genetics varied and strong enough to continue to grow vigorous plants.

Corn is one plant that is very susceptible to this with mutations in some varieties starting to show up two or three generations down the line if insufficient numbers of plants are grown. Most recommendations I've read for corn say a minimum of 200 plants to get seeds that will continue to be strong and show no defects in following generations. Other articles I've read recommend 100 plants minimum.

Last summer we grew two types of coloured corn; Aztec and Glass Gem.

We only grew 40-50 plants of each variety so the genetics are probably only good for another generation before defects will be seen. One way to counter this is to introduce some new genetics from other seeds of the same varieties or to even cross the two to see what happens. ;-)

Saving the seeds

As I mentioned before, the seeds we have been saving lately are all left to dry on the plant which makes saving them a lot faster to process than some others.

One of the easiest plants to harvest seeds from would have to be the Warrigal greens/New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides). The seeds appear where the leaves join the stem of the plant after the small self-pollinating yellow flower has been fertilised. The seeds are ready for gathering when they turn brown and fall off easily when touched. As this plant is native to Australia you can find it growing in coastal regions and you may be able to acquire a seed or two from a wild plant as long as the local authorities don't mind. ;-) We found the best way to get these seeds to germinate was to soak them for 24-36 hours in water before planting them into small pots, where they could be kept moist until they germinated. I don't think we will ever need to sow another seed as we now have volunteer plants popping up around the patch.

Other very easy seed to harvest would have to be those of the bean and pea families.

Beans and peas are self-pollinating plants that don't cross pollinate very easily. To save the seeds we leave four to five beans/peas on each bush as it comes to the end of the season. Once the pods have dried out it's just a matter of picking, giving the pods a twist and collecting the seeds.

Chillies are a fruiting plant that you can let dry out on the plant and then collect the seeds.

These cayenne chillies/peppers have been left to dry on the bush before being removed for seed saving. The dried flesh doesn't go to waste either and is kept in a jar to add to cooking. One word of warning though, it is a good idea to wear gloves if you are handling particularly hot chillies.

More than once I've rubbed my face after dealing with some of the super-hot chillies we grew, only to regret it for half an hour or so later. :-/

Lettuce is also a very easy plant to collect seeds from. It is capable of self-pollination and it is possible for a single plant to provide you with enough seeds for a few seasons.

Each small seed within the flower head is topped with a bit of fluff which I have found comes in handy when it comes time to collect the seeds. It is really as easy as pulling on the bits of fluff and the majority of the seeds will come out leaving very little chaff to clean from the saved seed.

A good way to collect smaller seeds like those from the amaranth and the brassica families is to use a few basic utensils most folks have around the house. There are a few steps involved but it doesn't take long at all.

First step is to remove the seeds from their pods or flower heads. The easiest way I found to do this is to simply rub them between your hands over a bucket.

If the seed is small enough, like the amaranth, you can run the chaff and seed mix through a sieve to remove the larger bits of chaff allowing the seeds to fall into a second container.

The next step is to winnow off the small bits of chaff that remain mixed with the seeds. An easy way to do this is to pour the seed and chaff mix from one bucket to another allowing a gentle breeze to blow the chaff away while the seed falls into the container below. A house fan on low will do the same job if there is no breeze and for small amounts, I have also blown through the seed and chaff as it falls between two cups.

Repeat this process until all chaff has been removed from the seed.

For seed storage I like to use small Ziplock bags to keep the seed dry. I try to keep all seeds from the same family in larger bags to make finding specific varieties a lot easier. These larger bags are then stored in Bianca's old sewing toolbox and kept in the coolest spot in the house.

Types of seeds

Just a quick word on the types of seeds you can buy and the benefits they may have.

Open pollinated seeds come from plants that have been allowed to be pollinated by natural means like wind, insects, animals or man. Older varieties of open pollinated seed that have a history spanning many generations are often called heirloom seeds. Open pollinated seed are suitable for seed saving as long as precautions are made to keep different varieties from the same family isolated from each other so they don't cross pollinate.

Hybrid seeds are made from a cross of two different plants of the same variety to produce an offspring that will have genetic characteristics of both its parents. These are called F1 varieties. Some F1 plants are developed to provide an increased yield in faster time than their parents (often called hybrid vigour). Other reasons for creating an F1 is so plants can tolerate extremes in climate, uniformity of shape/quality and the ability for all plants in a crop to become ready for harvest at the same time.

One type of F1 fruit I'm interested in growing this season is the parthenocarpic cucumber. Parthenocarpic plants are able to produce fruit without the need for pollination and can often turn up in nature as a mutation all by themselves. I think these cucumbers would be great to grow in the hoop house where there are few pollinating insects. Due to the Queensland fruit fly, many fruiting plants need to be grown under protection here.

The big downfall of F1 hybrid plants is that the seeds generally will not grow offspring that are true to type. Some plant breeders have persisted and stabilised some hybrid varieties but it can take many generations and a lot of dedication. I have spoken to a few folks that have bred their own tomato varieties this way. I was lucky enough to be able to purchase some seeds and am looking forward to growing these dwarf varieties to see how they go here.

GMO or Transgenic seeds, are a different kettle of fish altogether. These seeds are created by taking genes from one species and placing them into a different one to provide them with herbicide resistance (Roundup ready Canola), toxic properties that will kill pest insects (BT Corn), fortify with vitamins (Golden rice) or even just to produce a uniquely different colour flower like the blue rose. The main reason I am mentioning them is that they are not available to the home gardener here in Australia and many other countries, contrary to little info graphics posted on some social media sites. If you are interested in saving seeds from store bought produce here in Australia you don't need to worry about GMO produce either. All produce that is a 'GMO' needs to be signed as such and I am yet to see any make an appearance. You can also check out what varieties are approved to be grown here on the "Current GM Applications & Approvals" page on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) website.

That's about it for this month's instalment. Hope the seed saving tips help a few folks out.

Cheers all & have fun in the patch,
Rob

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. From Last Month: Caravanning in Comfort

Last month Gabriel emailed us about ideas for holidaying in a caravan:

"We are taking our family (three kids) away in a caravan for the first time in the Christmas holidays. We haven't done this before but I want to make it a great holiday for my family. Can you ask your readers to share their tips on caravanning, cooking, storing, cramped living and keeping kids entertained at night/during bad weather or any other clever ideas they have. Thank you."

We got some great idea - thank you for sharing your wisdom with Gabriel. Here are some of our favourite replies:

Keep them busy with bikes

You can make a cheap camping or caravanning holiday even more fun and active by packing bikes for everyone. We go camping regularly in caravan parks and camp free in National Parks. Not only does this entertain the kids from arrival, it also helps them make friends and they can have fun playing games like cops and robbers or making their own jumps. If you don't have room for bikes, scooters and helmets will do. Also make sure you pack a torch for each child - 'Spotlight' is a popular after dinner game and they love it. Both these items you usually already have at home and ensures hours of free fun for the kids!

Contributed by: Ruth Hills

Flat food is the answer when travelling

We have found a way to eat well and transport food easily when camping and caravanning. We freeze meals flat in large plastic Ziplock bags before the trip and store them in either an Esky with ice or in the car freezer and reheat them as necessary once on location in the caravan. This way the cook gets a bit of a holiday (or at least less work) without having to spend more money on takeaway!

Contributed by: Ms Moneypenny

Survival tips for camping with kids

We have just returned from our first caravan holiday with three kids. The best tips we found are:

Stay in the caravan park for at least three days. There's nothing worse than setting up and packing up frequently.
Pack plenty of books/colouring-in pages (depending on ages). A jigsaw puzzle with a roll-up mat was a great idea. Board games were pretty fun too. Movies/DVDs were a must for rainy days!
Keep meals simple: Salads, fruit, yoghurts, sandwiches and BBQ in the evenings. Camp fires with marshmallows (even a contained one using park facilities) was always a hit.
We had great weather but the occasional rainy day was spent in local towns/shops/cafe as a treat and even doing the 'tourist' thing in museums (was more fun than we thought!).
Also try to limit driving time to sight see as kids would be too tired for a hike once we got there! Our best times were spent stopping unexpectedly at a lake or river and going for a quick fish and just sitting under the trees for lunch.
Ask other caravanners and locals what to see/where to go, they give really good advice!
Get the kids involved in trip planning, get them to do a basic town history and choose what they would like to do/where to go for the day.
I gave each of my kids $50 before the trip to spend on whatever they liked: lollies, books, whatever. It's amazing how much time they occupied trying to figure out how to stretch that further!

Contributed by: Sal Costanzo

Remember to relax!

When camping or caravanning together, above all remember to just relax and enjoy the time together! With food, stick to basics, but take some fresh herbs to enliven meals. Pasta, couscous, rice or barley all can make good solid bases for filling salads or warm meals. Some butchers can vacuum pack meat for you, or can freeze it very flat, so it will defrost quickly. Use a tin of beans to bulk up meat dishes. Tinned tuna or salmon can be used when fresh meat runs out. Vegetable curries or stews with rice and sides such as raita, nuts, chutney or yoghurt can be a treat. Kids love tending a fire and cooking baked potatoes and stuffed apples in foil, as well as damper. As a treat a wine or juice and cheese, or a few nuts, after setting up camp, and before cooking dinner is a real relaxer. I always have dinner pre-cooked for the first night out, while everyone is getting used to being on the road. You never leave on time or get as far as you planned on the first day.

As for keeping occupied, we play cards (even a five-year-old can play poker), Monopoly and Scrabble. At a new camp site the 'alphabet game' is good! Kids have to find an item beginning with 'A', then 'B' right through to 'Z'. A good tactic for stops and car travel too! Another is trying to count the number of different types of animals seen when travelling.

Remember that children can help plan your trip too, follow maps and guide the driver. Letting them research potential towns and their attractions can give children ownership of the holiday. Change the seating arrangements now and then too. As extra back-up each child also takes a back pack of individual games, for example, Solitaire, as well as books, music, DVDs, small sketchbook and pencils, pad and pencil for dot to dot, noughts and crosses, a diary to write up, toys, water bottle and any other essentials or ways to pass the time. Some wonderful caravan parks have adventure playgrounds and bouncy pillows, pools, billiards, BMX tracks, bike hire and more. If you are free-camping, staying at one of these parks now and then can be a treat.

Don't try to travel each day. It is boring and tiring for children in a car every day and setting up each night and packing up each morning. Stay at least a few days in each place to get settled, go and do things locally, fish, swim, walk around town, visit museums and other historical points of interest. Less is more. Have fun and get to know each place.

When on the road keep snacks simple. Fill a flask so you can make your own tea, coffee and cordial. Dates, prunes, fresh fruit, home-made biscuits or raisin bread all make snacks which are cheaper and healthier than service station fare. Keep these in the car for easy access/quick stops. Use a cooler bag for milk and sandwiches.

One really valuable tip is to make sure children all have jobs to help get unpacked and pack up the caravan each time you move. Even the youngest can check the pop is locked down, the gas cover is on, the windows closed, drawers locked and so on. They get bored waiting around for you to do it all!

Contributed by: Karen Murdock

The cheapest entertainment - sleep!

You don't have to worry about finding cheap ways to entertain kids when camping or caravanning. If the kids are as active during the day as they no doubt will be, they won't need entertaining at night as they'll be asleep! But just to be sure, throw in a deck of cards for good measure!

Contributed by: Summer Breeze

10. This Month's Help Request: Help Me Plan 2015

Iris has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I am so glad to say goodbye to 2014 - I have wasted so much money and time and energy because I CAN NOT get organised! It's almost the start of another year and I have some time to sit down and plan 2015. Can you please ask your members for their best tips on getting and staying organized? 2015 is going to be the year that I stay on top of things - please help!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Iris, please send them in to us here.

11. Goodbye for Now

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for December and we hope you have a wonderful Christmas - we hope you can try to make it all about needs and not wants!

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

December 2017 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - December 2017

This issue includes:

January Calendar Topic: Eat Together at the Table
The Savings Vault
Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!
Funky, Affordable T-Shirts
Free 2018 Calendar
Hint from the Savings Vault

Hi,

Merry Christmas! I hope you are having a lovely December and you like your Simple Savings calendar for 2018. We made a slight error in the calendar on the month of December. If your December doesn't start on Saturday the 1st, please download our revised calendar.

All the best,
Fiona

1. January Calendar Topic: Eat Together at the Table

Did you know that eating dinner in front of the tellie makes you fat, and eating dinner around the table together as a family makes your kids smarter, healthier and wealthier? That may sound hard to believe but it is true. Researchers have found that children who enjoy eating dinner at the table with their family:-

Have a lower Body Mass Index
Get higher marks at school
Are less likely to take drugs
Are more likely to be wealthy
Eat more nutritious meals

But these are not the reasons why my family eat dinner together every night. We do it because it is FUN! We laugh. We tell jokes. We play games. We tease each other. We chat. Eating dinner together is our favourite part of the day.

I believe encouraging others to spend more time at the dinner table in 2018 is the simplest way we can help each other have a happier and healthier year.

There are many reasons why 36% of Australians admit to eating most of their meals, when home, on the couch while watching their favourite TV programs. 33% of teens and 50% of people aged 20-34 never eat together.

Some of these reasons include: they live alone, they are busy, and they don't see eating together as a priority. We want you to make it a priority. Eating and meeting at a screen-free table for an hour each night is the most important thing we can do.

But how can you go from never eating at the table and always having the tellie on during meals, to screen-free table time? Start by making it fun to eat dinner together. We are helping you do that by making some printable games, jokes and conversation starters for you to use at the table.

Download them and give it a go!

2. The Savings Vault

Remember us? A Savings Vault membership is your entry ticket to nearly 19,000 hints, our fabulous Forum and our premium Downloadables. Membership gives you access to all of this, and more, for 12 months.

Vault memberships are our only source of income. We do not accept money from advertisers because we want everything we do to be in your best long term interests. If you like hearing from us please show your support by getting a Vault membership.

3. Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!

We have many competitions planned for you in 2018. Starting with these three:

Show us your shirt!

We would like to see more of the funky, affordable t-shirts everyone has been making. If you have made a shirt with an iron-on transfer and an inkjet printer, take a photo of it and email it to us and/or post it to our Simple Savers Facebook group.

The best photo sent to us before 15th January, 2018 will win $50. The competition terms and conditions are here.

Photos at the table

We would like you to share photos of your family and/or friends at the table in January with our Facebook group. We are giving a $50 prize to the most popular photo/post at 10pm on the 31st January.

The competition terms and conditions are here.

Hint of the Week

We give away one 12-month Savings Vault membership per week to the person who sends in the best money saving hint. Everyone can enter. If you are already a member you win an extra 12 months added on to your existing membership.

Enter your hint here.

4. Funky, Affordable T-Shirts

In case you missed it in last month's newsletter we have started making t-shirt transfers so you can make your own funky, affordable t-shirts.

T-shirt transfers are a great way to have funny shirts for an affordable price. This is how they work.

This week we have added...

Two New Designs

See all the other designs here.

5. Free 2018 Calendar

Start 2018 organised, happy and ready to go with The Simple Savings 2018 Calendar

To any early birds that have already been there, done that, please note there has been a correction to December 2018 (the calendar version, not the actual month in real life). Thanks to one of our eagle eyed members, we discovered December started on the wrong day. Please download the amended version.

6. Hint from the Savings Vault

Thank you to Allen, just in time for Christmas:

Perfect pork crackling

Rescue cast iron crackling easily and quickly by using the microwave. When the roast comes out of the oven, remove the crackling, wrap it in paper towel and pop it into the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Remove it and check. If it needs more, repeat until the crackling is all puffed up, but be careful not to overcook it because it will burn if left too long. The finished product is perfect crackling every time.

7. Merry Christmas

Thank you for your support this year. I hope you have a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Many grins,
Fiona Lippey

91eac76449dea00de3011f5309e3

December 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Newsletter for December 2021

Merry Christmas! How are you going? I hope you are well. It has been another strange topsy turvy year. Even though the world around us has been weird, everything has been going well at our place. Everyone is healthy, everyone is happy and we are incredibly grateful.

Grateful we looked ahead. Grateful we spotted the con. Grateful for being frugal. Grateful that I'm surrounded by a gorgeous family. I feel incredibly lucky and looking forward to the year ahead.

The last two years have really brought home to me how important the Simple Savings way of life is because it makes us strong, resilient and prepares us for whatever life throws at us. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

This year we have made you two Christmas gifts. The first gift is a calendar (surprise, bet you never saw that coming) from me and the second is an OMG pancake slice recipe from Sandra.

I hope you enjoy both of them and have a fantastic year!

Merry Christmas!!

Fiona and Sandra

2022 Feeling Fantastic Planner

This year every monthly challenge has been chosen to build people up from the inside. Not just a quick fix. But, soul building and heart filling challenges. Or, as I like to call them "REAL GOLD".

Before we talk about the monthly challenges. Let me introduce you to the concepts of "Real Gold" and "Fool's Gold". Real Gold are things that make you feel fantastic right down to your core. Fool's Gold is something that you think is going to build you up but leaves you depleted instead. Real Gold is harder to find, where Fool's Gold is being sold to you on every corner. Real Gold gives long lasting satisfaction, where Fool's Gold is a quick fix.

Here are our challenges for this year:-

January: Ready, set , go

February: Friendly food

March: $21 Challenge

April: Hands in the dirt

May: Beautiful space

June: Craft and create

July: $1 treats

August: Outdoor joy

September: Kindness

October: Christmas organised

November: No spend

December: Take a rest

Click here to download your calendar.

Sandra's OMG Pancake Slice, with Apple, and Salted Date Caramel

This recipe turns a Pancake Shake and Bake into an impressive slice. It looks so delicious.

Pancake Ingredients

1 x 325g bottle of Pancake shake mix.

For the bottle used, it needed 300mls of water.

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced very thinly.

1 heaped tablespoon of Pecan nuts

Maple syrup

Pancake Slice

Method

Preheat oven to 200 ºC

Add the water needed to make up your pancake mix and shake the bottle until it is well mixed.

Line a 12cm x 27cm loaf pan with baking paper, leaving a 5cm overhang around the edge of the pan.

Pour the pancake mixture into the prepared baking pan.

Gently even it out with a spatula.

Arrange the apple slices on the top of the pancake mixture. Scatter the pecans on top.

Pour a little Maple Syrup over the apples and pecans so they don't dry out while they are cooking.

Bake for 27 minutes or until a skewer poked into the middle of the pancake, comes out clean.

Remove the pancake slice from the pan and cut diagonally into slices to serve.

Serve with Salted Date Caramel.

Salted Date Caramel

Ingredients

¾ cup ( 115g) of fresh, halved dates

¾ cup (185mls) water

½ cup (125mls) milk

½ teaspoon salt

Method

Place dates and water into a pan.

Cook over medium high heat, then bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes until soft.

Let it cool a little.

TAKING ALL DUE CARE

Transfer to a small food processor and add salt.

Add the half cup (125mls milk)

Whiz until smooth.

Serve with the pancake slice. Enjoy!

NOTE - you can use your favourite pancake mix if you have one and you would prefer to.

The pancake slice idea will also work for Gluten Free pancakes.

You could also use salted caramel sauce instead, if you are in a hurry. If you would like to try it, you can prepare it for up to 2 days beforehand and it will keep in the fridge.

Slice served with the caramel sauce and ice cream and yes, it might have been for breakfast with guests. They said it was yum!

This recipe served 4 adults. You can easily double it to serve a larger family.

February 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Financial Freedom?
March is 31 Tip Challenge Month!
NEW! Short Story Competition
Best of the Vault: Small Changes, Big Differences
Best of the Forum: Starting Afresh
$21 Challenge
Sophie Gray: The Basics
Penny's Blog: Ministry of Savings
Homeopathy Corner: Response to the Sceptics
From Last Month: Fair Share for Singletons
This Month's Help Request: Keeping My Chin Up
Savings Story: No More Nightmares!

Hello,

Guess what? At five months old, Elora is crawling and my goodness is she in a hurry! The moment we pop her on the floor, yippee, she is off and racing! That baby has places to go and toes to suck. Yes, toes to suck. Don't ask me why but she has a thing for big toes. No foot is safe. One minute she is on the other side of the room and the next she has latched on to your toe. Talk about unhygienic! She isn't fussy either, any toe will do! If she can't get to any of ours she simply lies there and sucks her own. Only a baby can be content lying there and sucking their own toe for hours on end!

Elora is not the only one learning new skills this month. These members have been trying out some fantastic new ways to save money and couldn't wait to tell us about them!

"Just a few months ago I made a new friend. When she told me she needed to learn how to become a smarter shopper, I told her I could help. I presented her with a new folder which included the Simple Savings Bill Payment System, with instructions how to use it and a reusable shopping bag with $21 worth of food in it. We sat down together and wrote out her and her partner's bills. The first thing she said was "Right - we are quitting smoking, buying no more takeaways and we'll be taking our own lunches to work from now on!" While I don't think her boyfriend was very pleased initially, he came round very quickly when he saw what a difference it was making. My friend was so happy and touched when I gave her the Simple Savings folder and thanked me for giving her life changing help. All I can say is thanks Simple Savings for your good work and for helping me make a new friend!" (Chloe Murphy)

"For the first time since we signed up to Simple Savings, my husband read the monthly newsletter before me. He immediately got on board with 'No Spend Month'! We sat down and agreed on what we considered a need and a want and I discovered he was actually very good at it. We are only six days in but he has already stopped me from spending money. It wasn't a huge amount of money, but it has resulted in a big change of thinking.

"I'd had a rough day, the kids had just had their first day at school, and the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner. I suggested I go and get fish and chips. However, he told me it was 'No Spend Month' and we were not having fish and chips. I argued that it was food and therefore a necessity, to which he replied that we had food at home and he would cook. Which he did!

"Thanks to Simple Savings, my husband has now realised that he doesn't need to spend money as often, and he will also cook dinner! In one week, two miracles have occurred!" (Catherine Scott)

"Thank you Simple Savings for changing the way I think. Today I was out shopping with my two daughters and a friend's two children. I wanted to give them an ice cream each as a treat, but I stopped and thought about it and added up the cost of purchasing four ice creams at around $3.50 each. Instead I went to the local supermarket and bought a box of four ice creams for a total of $5.00, giving me a huge saving of $9.00. The kids were happy and so was my bank balance!" (Amy O'Meara)

"I think your website is awesome and I have used lots of the ideas that I have learned. For example, I keep a file full of recipes plus the ingredients I have in my fridge, freezer and pantry. I regularly check my file to see what I already have. Instead of menu planning being a hassle, I find it a lot of fun and a chance to be creative. We have made some amazing salads and my sister loves to see what we are going to enjoy each week when she eats with us. Instead of feeling a failure, I feel stimulated and interested." (Angela Tayler)

"Having read your website for many months, I decided to follow your suggestion to look in my cupboards and see what was hiding in them. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found in there - there was lots of food that I had forgotten about! I followed your lead and made meals from what I already had, and ended up with a whole week's worth of meals for my husband and me, as well as for guests that were already booked in to eat with us. So, come on everyone! Look in your cupboards and use what you already have, rather than buying more of the same!" (Marilyn Weber)

All the best,

Fiona Lippey

PS. Savings Vault Memberships on Sale!

To make your 31 day Challenge easy we have dropped the price of the Savings Vault to $31 (usually $47). With almost 14,000 tips on absolutely everything you can possibly think of, choosing a new tip each day should be a breeze! You only need to implement a couple of those 14,000 hints to get your money back. Plus, if you aren't happy we have a 365 day no questions asked guarantee. You can join the Vault here. The discount will apply through to 31st March.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Financial Freedom?

Sally tore open the envelope in excitement and anticipation. This was one credit card statement she didn't have to hide! 'Balance owing? ZERO! I've done it! I've finally done it!' She felt like dancing round the kitchen. At last that blasted credit card was paid off! The timing couldn't have been better either. Today was Sally's day off. 'All that scrimping and saving was worth it,' she smiled to herself. 'Now I can go out and enjoy myself!'

Sally didn't know what to do first so she bought herself a cappuccino and a huge slab of carrot cake in the café while she thought about it. 'Now this is more like it,' she thought happily. 'No more lukewarm coffee and soggy sandwiches for me!' No more Pete on her back nagging about saving money - and no more Savings Group meetings either! She had reached her savings goal. She was free!

Hours later, Sally arrived home exhausted but happy. It had been so much fun being able to shop with her credit card again! It was amazing how quickly she had managed to rattle up a few hundred dollars but what the heck? She had no reason to save any more. She could pay it off again in no time! She walked through the door, bags in hand, took one look at Pete's questioning eyes - and the bubble burst. 'Oh heck,' Sally wailed in remorse. 'I've done it again, haven't I? I'm back to square one!'

2. March is 31 Tip Challenge Month!

Sally has every right to be proud of reaching her savings goal, but she has saved money only to be able to spend it again! If you're saving money simply so you can buy more 'things', you are saving for the wrong reasons. 'Things' do not make you wealthy. Happiness does not come from owning lots of stuff.

Simple Savings isn't so much about saving money as improving your life. Sally sees saving money as being repressed; she feels that she had to 'go without' just so she could pay off her credit card. But saving money doesn't repress or limit you - it frees you.

Having the skills to be able to live off very little money is the ultimate freedom. The less you can live off, the less you can get by on, the less you have to earn, the more freedom you have. Being careful with your money will give you the freedom to be who you want to be. But that is not the only thing it will give you. Being a thoughtful spender will also mean you can:

Be generous when you want to
Help the planet
Be empowered instead of being a sucker
Pass on skills to your children
Be a fantastic cook
Work less
Have more family time and
Relax more.

Saving money is not repressive, it is a fun and exciting way to improve your life. Be excited each time you save a dollar. That is one dollar you will never have to earn. Becoming frugal will mean you can do and be things other people can't because they wasted their money. Becoming frugal will improve your life. So let's see how much progress you can make in 31 days. This month is 31 Tip Challenge Month. Your mission is to find 31 new tips that will improve your life whilst saving you money. Try a new one every day. It is time to liberate yourself and be less dependent on money.

To help get you going we have dropped the price of the savings Vault from $47 to $31 through out this Challenge. (The discount goes till 9pm, 31st March.) So there is no excuse. (We have a full year guarantee, so if you are disappointed for any reason we will happily give you your money back.) There are 14,000 tips in the Vault. Go to the Vault categories that are relevant to you and make a list of 31 tips to improve your life. Then challenge yourself to do one tip each day for the next month. It will be so much fun! Let's go for it.

You can join the Vault here.

3. NEW! Short Story Competition

This month's competition is a little different. It's a short story competition! A romantic short story, to be exact. Who can write the best Simple Savings style romance? 'It all started when he was ogling the marked down meat in my trolley...' - er, we're sure you can do better than us! There is a prize of $300 cash for the best entry so get those fingers typing! You can write about whatever you like - as long as the story is based around saving money. Maximum 1000 words please. We can't wait to read your stories! Send them to us here.

4. Best of the Vault: Small Changes, Big Differences

The best thing about the 31 Tip Challenge is that you don't necessarily have to make big changes to improve your life and your savings! Here are some of our favourite 'small but smart' tips from the Savings Vault. Give them a go this month!

'Use it Tuesday'

Here's a hint to use up those food items which end up at the back of the kitchen cupboard.

Every Tuesday, use one or more of the ingredients that are hiding in the pantry. These are probably items you bought because they looked interesting or were on special, but have never got round to using. You'll save money by using what you already have, and free up space in the cupboard. By doing this, I estimate I've saved about $3.50 per week, or $182 over the course of a year.

To get you in the habit, you can even give this day a special name, such as 'Use it Tuesday'.

Contributed by: Liz Thomas

Pseudo smokers save price of a pack a day

We save $25 a day by pretending to smoke! My husband and I don't smoke but we have many friends who do, and they always buy their cigarettes first thing each day before they purchase anything else. We decided if they can do that, then we can 'buy' our savings before anything else. If we smoked a pack a day we would spend $25 a day, so each morning we transfer this into our savings account. We save $9125 each year with this savings plan - a pretty good holiday for a family of six!

Contributed by: Cindy Franklin

Share tips with everyone

Please don't assume that some of the things you are doing to save money are things that everyone knows about.

I was recently talking to a grandmother who only wanted one lemon from a pile of giveaways for her evening meal of fish. I suggested that she take a few more and squeeze the juice and freeze it in ice-cube trays, giving her enough to defrost for her dinner for months. She was absolutely delighted with the idea, while I thought it was something everyone would know to do.

I continually go through the Vault and take a few ideas for cutting costs in the budget and run with them, and then come back for more. It is part of my monthly list of things to do. Most of the ideas I already know, but sometimes something jumps out at me that I had forgotten about or had simply never got around to doing.

Contributed by: C.W

5. Best of the Forum: Starting Afresh

There's no denying, Simple Savings is a massive money saving resource and a question that often gets asked in our Savings Forum is 'where do I start?' If you feel a little overwhelmed and you are not sure what tips to start off your savings with, here are some threads from our helpful Forum members that will set you on the right path.

Where to start?

Mel is a brand new member and wants to get on top of her finances. There's just one problem - where on earth does she start? Which threads are the 'must-reads'? What parts of the site are the most helpful? You'll find all the answers here!
read more...

Motivational saving stories

There's nothing more motivating than reading of others' saving successes to spur you on towards achieving your own goal. In this thread, Frangipani asks other Forum members to share their stories. A fantastic read that shows it really is possible to live the life of your dreams.
read more...

Name your top savings tip

Linda asks the Forum members - out of all the saving tips they use, which one saves them the most money of all? This brilliant thread will give you heaps of suggestions for your 31 Tip Challenge!
read more...

What is the best SS hint you have learnt?

Simple Savings members use countless tips every day - but Kaz wants to know, which one is their favourite. As the replies soon show, it's pretty much impossible to choose just one!
read more...

My manic savings challenge

Do you have a personal challenge you need to save for quickly? This member is trying new tips and using every available resource, all while using the Forum to keep herself accountable!
read more...

6. $21 Challenge

It's been a fantastic few weeks for the $21 Challenge, with hundreds of families giving the Challenge a go for the first time after attending one of a series of talks given by Penny (Jackie) at libraries around New Zealand. The libraries were packed to the rafters with people wanting to learn the secrets to feeding their families with just $21! You can read all about them here.

From the library talks we discovered that many people genuinely don't realise how many of the most regularly bought items on their shopping list can be made from scratch for a fraction of the price. It was fantastic to see people racing to grab a copy of the book so they could learn how to make their own yummy sausage rolls, muesli bars and crumpets! Why not give a new 'make it from scratch' recipe a go for your 31 Tip Challenge? To get you started, here is a fantastic recipe for muesli bars from The $21 Challenge book, contributed by Sara Dias. Once you've tried these, you'll never go back to 'bought' ones!

Muesli Bars

1 ½ cups toasted muesli (whichever type you have)

2 ½ cups Rice Bubbles (any brand will do)

½ cup coconut

¼ cup crushed nuts

125g butter

½ cup honey

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup raw sugar

½ cup choc chips (optional)

Grease and line a shallow baking tray (we recommend a 28cm x 36cm tray, which makes 30 standard muesli bars). Mix your muesli, Rice Bubbles, coconut and nuts together in a bowl. Put your butter, honey, peanut butter and sugar into a small saucepan and stir over a low hear until melted. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer without stirring for five minutes. Pour melted ingredients into the bowl with your dry ingredients and stir well. Leave to cool for 20 minutes or until it reaches room temperature. Add choc chips if using and mix well. Spread mixture into the tray and pack in tightly, smoothing with a knife or spatula. Pop in the fridge until firm. Slice and serve. These bars will keep in the fridge for three weeks - if they last that long!

To order a copy of The $21 Challenge, click here.

7. Sophie Gray: The Basics

I am teaching my kids to cook, a process that began as soon as they were able to stand. They're taller than me now, so they are not learning very fast. Sometimes the outcome is edible, occasionally it's even palatable, but some days I despair.

I also worry. I'm a mummy and worrying is part of the job description but I do it to international standards. I lie awake at night worrying frantically - what will become of them when they are on their own? Will they die of food poisoning, develop scurvy or goitre or anaemia? (And will that reflect badly on me!)

I also worry - and this is far more frightening - about what they'll feed me when I'm old and can't cook for myself. Will they serve me salmonella soup and botulism beef? Will they clog my aged arteries with fat and finish me off for good? I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than eat some of what they are most enthusiastic about.

They love junk food - never mind it's all fried, to them fried is the 'secret ingredient' they love. There is little hope for me!

Last night the girl child cooked as her young chap was around for dinner. I rather lose my appetite when I am confronted by 16-year-olds in love - sooo many more things to worry about! However, it was interesting to see her ratchet up the effort, so maybe all is not lost. She also discovered that if she, or in this case he, doesn't eat vegetables you need a lot more main course. That the vegies in your meal aren't just nourishing, they're filling. An important and fundamental thing to know about preparing meals that she now understands, hurrah! Here are some others in the vain hope that one day she'll read them:

Learn to chop onions properly so they cook evenly and distribute easily though the dish, no nasty slippery chunks please!
- Chop vegetables and meat into even size pieces, so they cook evenly and in the same amount of time
- Use good quality equipment- heavy based pans distribute the heat evenly so you avoid 'hot spots' and burning
- Taste before you season. Ingredients vary, depending on their age, freshness and storage method; always taste before you serve
- Plan your meals so you don't over stock, run out of time or miss out an essential ingredient
- Read the recipe through before you start so you know what order to proceed in (it's all too easy to drain the stock you needed for the sauce down the sink or miss turning on the oven)
- Eat in season - fill the plate, sandwich, stew, snack box or whatever with seasonal fruit and vegetables. They are the cheapest and healthiest way to fill up.

Pasta Sauce

This pasta sauce can be as simple or elaborate as you choose to make it. It is very low in fat, can be made in bulk and frozen or bottled and can be meat-free or used with a small quantity of meat left over from a previous meal.

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 rashers of bacon - optional
2 celery sticks or a couple of courgettes, chopped
1 capsicum, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 400g tin tomatoes
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp basil pesto or 1 tsp dried basil or a handful of torn basil leaves
¼ tsp dried chilli seeds, optional
Black olives, optional

Sauté onions, garlic, celery, bacon if using and pepper in oil for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add olives, pesto and chilli seeds and mix into cooked pasta.

Any green vegetable seems to work well so use what you have got.

Other options - add a dash of wine or a couple of chopped sundried tomatoes, add some cooked chicken or seafood, add other vegetables like asparagus tips or chopped steamed spinach... Think of the sauce as a base and use your imagination. This is so quick, easy and inexpensive you need never open a jar of sauce for pasta again.

Friday Night Frittata

Serves 4

This style of meal is very quick to make and will work well with a wide variety of flavours. You could add bacon or cheese, salami or seafood - the possibilities are endless and the results are delicious.

4 medium potatoes, scrubbed
6 large eggs
1 tin whole kernel corn
1 onion, chopped
6 tbsp oil
2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper
Handful of chopped herbs - whatever you have, parsley, chives, thyme...

Cut potatoes into 2cm cubes and boil in salted water until just cooked. Drain and return to element for a few seconds to dry out.

Heat a little of the oil in a heavy based frying pan and sauté the onion till soft. Toss it in with the potato then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, herbs and lightly beaten eggs.

Heat the remainder of the oil until very hot, give the potato, egg mixture a gentle stir then quickly pour into the hot pan and reduce the heat.

Cook the frittata on a moderate heat till the edges are quite set.

Heat the grill and place the pan under the grill until the centre is set and the top golden.

Run a knife around the edge of the frittata and give the pan a gentle shake to ensure that it is not stuck before turning out onto a warmed platter. Place the platter over the pan and quickly invert. Remove the frying pan and serve the frittata immediately with a salad and tomato sauce or salsa.

Sophie Gray is the author of the range of Destitute Gourmet cookbooks. www.DestituteGourmet.com

8. Penny's Blog: Ministry of Savings

Feb 19, 2010

Today looks pretty much like any other from where I'm sitting. Out of the window to my left I can see Lake Waikare, dotted with white caps. Out of the windows right in front of me I can see farmland stretching as far as the eye can see, right up to the Bombay Hills. Out of the window to my right I can see a ring of shady trees and bright orange poppies waving in the wind. What makes today different from yesterday and the two thousand or so days before that is the 'For Sale' sign at the end of the drive. It's taking some getting used to, I can tell you! After almost three months in limbo, we have finally got the go ahead to move to Whangamata. Yesterday we put an offer on the house we have been dreaming of all summer and it's been accepted! Woohoo! Now we just have the small matter of selling our place to attend to...

Already I'm wondering how we can possibly bring ourselves to leave this place. It doesn't help that everyone I talk to asks how on earth we can bear to leave it either! There's no doubt it's a pretty special place. The hardest part for me is knowing that once it sells, we'll never be able to get it back. Somebody else will be picking fruit from our trees and sitting on our deck with a glass of wine, watching the incredible sunsets. But it's time for a change and in our case, it really is a seachange. Noel's ready for a new challenge, the kids are chomping at the bit to get to their new school - and me? I'll be a writer who lives at the beach! How cool does that sound? I think even I can learn to live with that!

Still, now is not the time for resting on our laurels. We've got a house to sell and who knows how long that could take in the current economic climate? For all we know I could still be looking out of these same windows in two years' time! Hopefully not but in the meantime we've got some serious goals to work on. The first one is to make our property look totally irresistable to buyers without spending a fortune. The second is to save as much money as humanly possible. From now on, every month is going to be a 'No Spend Month!' A small house on a 659m2 section in Whangamata costs the same to buy as our big house and two acres. Even if our house sells at the full asking price, we are still going to have to borrow more than $17,000 to cover the agent's commission fees and any other expenses which will no doubt crop up. If it sells for less than the asking price, we could be looking at considerably more. OK, so even if we do have to borrow it won't be a huge mortgage by any stretch but I hate owing the bank money, hate it!

So I'm really glad that my War on Debt calendar is showing a '31 Tip Challenge' for March, I reckon it's going to be a big help. I've already started digging out tips which will help me declutter and give the house a bit of a revamp for little or no cost, such as The Power of 'Sparkle'. A friend also told me about 'home staging' and gave me the link to a website called Homebase. While my budget doesn't stretch to having a team of professionals come and give my house a makeover, their site contains heaps of free tips and photos to show how you can achieve terrific results yourself. After checking out their website I decided to give it a go and I honestly can't believe the difference just moving a couple of bits of furniture around has made, I wish I had done it years ago! I look around this tidy, uncluttered house and can't believe it's mine. The only problem is, now I love my 'new' house so much, it's going to be even harder to leave!

A couple of years ago, a lovely lady wrote to me and said 'Do you realise what a wonderful legacy you are leaving your family with your blog?' I honestly had never thought about it that way so I decided I really should start printing my five years' of ramble off so that my children and even grandchildren can read it some day. I've yet to set a spare three weeks aside for putting the pages all in order, but as the printer churned out page after page I caught sight of all kinds of tips and snippets and it struck me 'Penny, when was the last time you tried something new to save money?' I mean, don't get me wrong, like many Simple Savers there are countless things I do every day to save money but it's all so automatic these days. While I'm patting myself on the back for making muesli bars or chucking baking soda down the loo for the hundredth time the Vault is still being topped up constantly with tips I've never tried or heard of before. The Hint of the Week email is a great reminder to give a new savings tip a go and I often do follow through with those but I confess I am guilty of spending too much time catching up on the Forum and not enough time catching up with new tips in the Vault. Which is criminal really because I'm missing out on the opportunity to make some brilliant savings! I mean, honestly Penny how hard is it for you to click the 'Recent Hints' button once a week and spend a few minutes taking some new tips on board? I'm the kind of person who would forget her head if it wasn't stuck on so I have just written 'CHECK NEW HINTS!' on every Monday in my diary for the rest of the year. That should keep me going for quite a while and that way I won't miss out on brilliant ideas like 'Sustainable Streets' - now that is something I would LOVE to do! *Sigh*, if only I wasn't moving!

As well as learning new tips, I've been learning just how rewarding it is to share tips with others. This week I gave a talk at Dinsdale Library in Hamilton. Once again it was packed and once again it was packed with people who desperately wanted to learn how to save money. So many lovely people stick in my mind from that day - such as the delightful pensioner who was on holiday from Australia and came up to tell me he and his wife put a quarter of their weekly pension into savings. 'That's how we were able to afford to come here!' he said proudly. Then there was the lady who confessed to me that she loathes baking, as I used to, and wanted to know what it was that changed my mind and made me learn to enjoy it. 'Easy', I told her. 'Pride! Instead of resenting the fact that the family keep scoffing your baking, be proud that they love what you make. Be proud that you have the skills to make yummy things for them and do such a great job of caring for them and making sure they have good food to eat. There's not too many people like us around, so be proud!' I also loved talking to the lady who came up to tell me that her pre-school daughter calls packaged food 'stale food'. 'I don't know where she came up with that from, but she insists she only likes her food fresh and will only eat home baking and fresh fruit and vegies. She even grows her own tomatoes in a pot!' A Simple Saver of the future if ever I saw one!

Without a doubt my favourite, however, was the lady who waited behind for ages until everyone had gone. 'I just wanted to say thank you for coming,' she said shyly. 'Oh, not at all, thank you for coming!' I laughed. 'No really - I only came here today to use the Internet because mine's been cut off. Instead I walked in and found you. I had a job interview this morning and I got the job. Next thing I know I'm sitting in the library hearing all these wonderful tips. I'm feeling so positive; I can't wait to give them a go. From now on, I think things are on the up for me!' Boy, that lady made my day! I guess my point is, it's not just learning new tips that makes a difference, it's SHARING them too which is just as important. Every single person who takes a few minutes to share a tip in the Vault or Forum is potentially making a huge difference to someone else's life, even if they don't realise it. I love Jamie Oliver's idea in his book 'Ministry of Food' where he encourages everyone who tries a new recipe to pass it on so that it helps someone else. In that case, we must all belong to the 'Ministry of Savings'!

February 2010

2nd - Fast food

10th - No SAVE Month?!

16th - Gordon Ramsay where art thou?

9. Homeopathy Corner: Response to the Sceptics

We are often attacked by the septics for supporting homeopathy in this newsletter. Some say that it has nothing to do with saving money, it only works by placebo (people's imagination), it isn't a 'real' science and it is only practiced by charlatans.

So this month, Fran has called in reinforcements in the form of Robert Medhurst of Brauer Natural Medicine (www.brauer.com.au).

Robert refers to almost 500 real scientific studies testing homeopathic remedies including one supporting my personal observations that the 'costs of homeopathic treatment were significantly lower than conventional treatment'.

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/hplus/research/homeopathy-works-and-the-skeptics-cant-stand-it.html

10. From Last Month: Fair Share for Singletons

Last month Julia asked:

"As the only single person in our family I feel the constant pressure when it comes to gift buying or even eating out when we are together. I constantly end up paying more than I should because I don't want to look like a scrooge but I really can't afford it. I have a well paid job but am trying to save as well which doesn't seem to be getting through to the rest of my family. I love spending time with my family, but I'm struggling to afford it. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Thank you everyone for your swag of wonderful suggestions. With savvy ideas like these, Julia can relax and look forward to making some great savings, without fear of being labeled 'stingy'!

Tight but generous

I earn more than anyone in my family but I'm also the 'tightest'. I don't get any stick for it though, because I'm generous with my time and emotions instead.

Several members of my family are financially challenged, so we discussed things and came up with a few rules. For Christmas, we only buy for one adult each, by drawing a name out of the hat and buying a gift with a limit of $50 to $70. We can all buy for each of the kids - there are only three nieces and nephews so far - but I'm happy to buy a combined present for around $30, such as a board game which they love. When they were really young they were just as happy with the paper and box that the present came in, so keep that in mind too! And always buy from discount retailers such as The $2 Shop.

I'm lucky that when we eat out as a family, Dad still pays. He's proud that he still can, even though his family is an average age of 40! But if he didn't, I'd be dividing the bill, because if I only buy one glass of wine then I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for the others' alcohol habits.

My final message is that if you are honest with your family they will be supportive and proud that you're being so goal oriented and focused.

Contributed by: Justine Stewart

Split before you sit

Most restaurants only allow one bill per table, so you invariably end up subsidising someone else's meal. So if you go out for dinner, speak to the head waiter before sitting at your table and make it quite clear that you require a separate bill for your food. If you sort out the bill paying routine before you eat, there will be no dramas at the end of the meal and your family and friends will soon follow suit.

As for gifts, how about putting a monetary limit on all gifts or, if the family is large enough, do the 'names in the hat' routine, so you only have to buy one gift with an agreed price limit. That way, no one person can be seen to be miserly if everyone plays the game!

Contributed by: Caroline Marryat

Simple gift-giving rule

In our family, we have a simple rule for gift giving. Only one gift for each couple if they have no children, and if they do have children, then we only buy for the children, not the adults.

When eating out, try to go to places where you can pay for your meal in advance, or where they will split the bill for you. It's also a good idea to purchase your own drinks, rather than getting into shouting rounds.

Contributed by: Amanda Brent-Kay

Put your foot down

When I was single, my family didn't understand that I wanted to save for a house instead of forking out lots of money on gifts. They laughed at me and joked that I should simply marry a rich husband!

In spite of their 'advice', I went to the bank and opened a first home saver account, putting a small amount away each week. I know I'm some way from buying my own home, but my savings are growing and I'm happy to see that I'm earning $5.00 interest every month, which increases as my savings grow. You may not be saving for a house, but you need to secure your own future, which some in your family might not see. They think someone else will fix it or sort everything for you, so it's good to see you doing it for yourself. I think you should also put a portion of every pay towards your savings goal; count it as a bill which must be paid with your other bills. Then, you can enjoy what is left over.

Don't be afraid to buy gifts in variety shops and discount retailers. They have lots of different stuff for low cost gifts. For example, buy some cheap glass jars, fill them with lollies or home-made bickies and decorate with some ribbon and a gift tag.

You never know! Once you put your foot down and take a stand, others may say they feel the same and want to change their gift giving practices.

Contributed by: Chloe

Look for meal deals

I'm a single person who enjoys dining out with the family. To make this experience affordable as well as enjoyable, I collect shopper dockets that feature meal deals in my local area, for example, 'buy one main meal, get one main meal free'. I use these dockets with other family members to share the cost. In this way I might only pay half of the regular cost of my meal!

Contributed by: Annette Nott

Give them your time

Spending quality time with your family is better than money and gifts - but are you giving quality time to your family? Are they giving quality time to you?

Perhaps you need to develop a better line of communication with your family. If you've been over generous, then you have to pull back instead of giving lots of gifts in the name of love!

You don't need to spend money to show love to your family. I know you feel you should - I have felt that pressure too - but has it occurred to you that they may just want you to turn up and say 'how's it going?', or perhaps offer to help cook dinner that night? That costs nothing, and your family would be so pleased to have you there!

In my case, my nieces jump all over me when I see them, probably hoping for a gift. But when I don't have a gift for them, I simply say, 'Sorry, no pressies today. But let's do this instead!' We then go and blow bubbles with a smidge of detergent and water, jump in puddles, or whatever! By diverting their attention away from money and gifts, and onto a fun activity, the lack of gifts becomes a non issue.

So, if you think you have to outlay a ton of cash each time you see your family, think again! You may find that your family doesn't expect financial outlay from you, just your time! So be open minded and give it a try - it may just work.

Contributed by: Lisa Delace

Change is good

I am a single person with one child. When I spend cash during the week, I always break a $10 or $20 note and put the change straight into my coin purse. When I go out for dinner with other people, I take my coin purse so I know that when the bill arrives, I will always have exact money to contribute and won't feel embarrassed about asking for change; I also don't have to leave a larger tip than I'd like.

Before the menu gets taken away, I make a mental note of the cost of my meal and drinks. When other people order garlic bread, alcohol or other extras that can mean an extra $10 or $20 on the bill. If they then suggest that we share these extras, and if that's not what I want to do, I just say I don't like garlic bread, tell them that I just want my main, or say I'm having an alcohol-free weekend. By doing this, I don't feel obliged to contribute to dishes or drinks that I didn't want to order.

When it comes to gifts, my strategy is to save up points on my credit card reward program and redeem the points in store gift vouchers a couple times a year. With all my household bills set up as direct debit on the credit card, I usually earn enough for a $250 voucher each year. I wait for sales and buy gifts with these vouchers. I get to buy nice presents for people without feeling like it's a big out of pocket expense. Of course, I always pay my credit card balance monthly so I never have to pay interest.

Contributed by: Tania Orum

Save up when dining out

To save money when dining out, I always buy an entree size meal for my main, and either share a dessert or have a coffee. It costs far too much to have every course. I also pay for my own meal, and I never offer to split the bill evenly, especially when the others eat up large. I also choose somewhere affordable, and only dine out once a month. Works for me!

Contributed by: Colleen Parr

Learn to say no!

If you can't afford something, say so!

I had friends who constantly wanted to go out with their kids to indoor parks and other money wasters. I knew I couldn't afford it, and I had the guts to say NO. I am cutting debt due to this simple word, while the others are getting deeper into debt. Believe me, you will feel good when you see your money piling up... so learn to say no!

Contributed by: Julie E

Affordable family activities

My family often organises get-togethers once a month, doing inexpensive things like:

Enjoying a picnic at a centrally located park. Everyone brings a dish such as sandwiches, cake or fruit salad. Parents should bring slightly bigger dishes, to cover for the children. Just make sure you coordinate with your family, so you don't end up with six bottles of soft drink and no food!
Games night at someone's house. Again, bring a dish, whether it's a cheese platter or yummy home-made dip with some crackers.
Pot luck dinner. I'm sure someone else will suggest this but you can't beat a pot luck dinner. Pick a theme for the night, for example, 'Mexican' and everyone brings a suitable dish such as nachos, tacos and burritos. There are plenty of options here.
Go to a local attraction - my family recently did the Quarantine Station ghost tour in Sydney - where each person pays for their individual entry. Something like this works well when paired with a picnic.

If these things aren't an option, maybe talk with your family about how you feel, and explain your financial situation. They may not even realise that you feel pressured to spend beyond your means. Or when eating out, divide the bill according to what you've actually spent. If you've had one glass of wine and pasta, only pay for that. This isn't being a scrooge; it is a fair way to cover your meal that doesn't see needless money coming out of your pocket. For shared dishes, like garlic bread or side salads, split the cost fairly.

Contributed by: Caitlyn Murphy

11. This Month's Help Request: Keeping My Chin Up

This month Kate C asks:

"I've just been told by my boss that I'll be working 20 hours a week from next month instead of 37. I have no choice - it's either 20 hours or nothing and everyone else has been told the same thing. But I won't be able to make ends meet and my husband cannot work at the moment because of a knee reconstruction. The mortgage is the biggest worry, but if I pay that I am really scared I won't have enough pay the rest of the bills. What should I do? I really don't want to lose our home."

Poor Kate! Many of our members have found themselves in similar situations so we know you must have some helpful answers. Send in your tips for Kate here.

12. Savings Story: No More Nightmares!

Last Wednesday night I couldn't sleep. My wasteful and muddled book-keeping ways had haunted me for the past year or more and got me terribly into debt. I had dollar signs and numbers running through my head - what to pay when, who I'd forgotten to pay and how much I was wasting in overdue charges - all from being disorganised and overspending. It was a total nightmare! I woke up in a cold sweat in a genuine state of anxiety. I could bear it no longer!

At 3am I got out of bed and sat in my PJ's in my little study ready to take action. Between 3am and 5am I crunched numbers, drafted a simple budget and ploughed through all my disordered paperwork - unpaid bills, reminders, threats...the lot! I set up all recurring credit card and regular bills on my Outlook program in bright colours. Then I downloaded the Monthly Bill Summary, Monthly Bill Planner and Pay Day Planner from Simple Savings and got them all up to date. I have a lovely new folder which has become the centre of my Home Accounts now! There were two long standing accounts I was really worried about. I wrote an email to both, saying I intended to pay and asking if I could pay via a weekly schedule (as both were threatening to start legal action). I have now earmarked 20% of my salary to go to these so I do not incur a bad credit rating. I have also just faxed off a request to Veda Credit Advantage to get a current report to ensure all my details are accurate and up to date. I have also just emailed my tax accountant to make an appointment next week to get my late tax up to date.

Those couple of hours were very busy - but oh how well I slept when I returned to bed at 5am! I am not out of the woods yet but I have made a very good and determined start. I am ready to put my old ways well behind me and move forward!

Contributed by: SmileyJo!

February 2012 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2012

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: First Date
March is Hidden Gems Month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: The Best Shops Ever!
Best of the Vault: Smarter Shoppers
Cooking with Mimi: Hidden Supermarket Gems
Penny's Blog: Happiness is a Pair of Red Shoes
Lin's Garden Diary: Best Mates Grow Well Together
Homeopathy Corner: Is it Normal?
From Last Month: Radishes!
This Month's Help Request: Home with Pets
Savings Story: On My First Challenge!
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Hello,

How are you going? Good I hope. Today it is a bit of an exciting day in the Lippey household. My Omi, (grandma) Hannah Lippey turns 99. How is that for a brilliant age! Ninety-nine! I love my grandma, much of her wisdom shaped Simple Savings. Whenever I'm lost I ask my Omi for her advice. She is a very special lady and if I can be just half the lady she is then that would be one fantastic life. Cheers to Omi! A truly wonderful lady!

While we are raising our cups of tea I would like to propose a toast to you and all the Simple Savings members. Thank you for your help throughout the years. We have achieved some fantastic things working together and the following praise is for you and the whole Simple Savings team.

"I just wanted to share my gratitude! I ordered the $21 Challenge book and a year's membership for the Vault and I am already inspired! I just checked the inventory of both my freezers and discovered about two weeks' worth of meals and snacks! I will only need to buy bread, eggs and milk to top us up so I guess that's the $21 Challenge! Thank you so much for the inspiration. I'm looking forward to receiving my book in the mail. This has come at a perfect time for us too as I only get paid monthly and my husband isn't getting paid regularly at the moment.

"Thanks again for showing me how resourceful I can be." (Kristy Steel)

"Dearest Fiona and all the amazing team of SS. I want to tell you how grateful I am, I got your book, The $21 Challenge and I got it signed - wow! It has changed my life forever. I am married for four years, I am very bad as a housewife, to be honest too much to do and I don't know where to start. Plus, at the moment, we are having lots of financial problems so my hubby and I live on a very tight budget. So I decided to put into place my action plan and change for a better housewife. I want to have a wonderful clean, organised house and be an excellent cook! I found myself spending lots of money on lots of ingredients that in the end I did not use in my cooking, due to the lack of knowledge. Now, with my $21 Challenge book and my membership to your amazing website I finally got it! I have now a better looking home, I use lots of vinegar and bicarb soda, and I am starting to feel more confident in my kitchen. My husband is noticing these changes and he is very, very happy, mainly because the food I am creating from scratch and it is yummy and cheap. I am cooking lots of casseroles and quiches and home-made pizzas. My hubby eats very well and I am losing weight too since we don't buy cheap snacks! So really you have to know you have a place in our lives and in my heart and I can't wait to buy more of your books to give to my sister in Mexico and my parents-in-law in Western Australia! Thank you with all my love and keep up the fantastic work. I loooove Simple Savings!" (Jenny and Richard)

"I live in the USA. I came across your site a while back. I have followed your yearly calendar and used some of the $21 Challenge meals. When I started using your site my family was deep in debt. My spending was out of control. Well, this year my debt is half gone. We were able to re-mortgage most of our debt, have only used cash for all our spending over the years and have been able to save money instead of spending it. We can live better, not be so stressed worrying about how to pay for all those bills etc. My food bill is high. I use menu planning and a price book from each store that I shop at.

"For example, at Aldi, I keep my receipts from the store and write in a small note book for prices for most staples like milk, eggs etc. (list eggs $0.99c, milk $3.00). I look up store flyers and plan my weekly meals. So if I was to be at Wal-Mart shopping and they have milk on sale I can open my price book to compare if it's a deal or not. I only use cash; no plastic, no bank checks or debit cards. For all my groceries I shop with a list. I use a number clicker that adds up close to my budget amount. Sometimes I need to put food items back, which isn't fun. But we eat well and it's nice to live within our monthly income. We wanted to thank you for sharing your site with others." (Tracy Walters)

"I would like to say thank you very much for my book, I received it yesterday, I can't wait to read it. I would like to congratulate all of your staff for all of your helpful hints and your calendar, as these have helped me save a lot, get my GE CC paid off, start to save some money and get all of our bills organised and paid off each month on time. My DD is the one that got me into SS a couple of years ago as a Mother's Day present and she renews it each year for me. I love her for that, and I love what SS has done for DH and myself." (Julie Beattie)

Wow! Congratulations everyone! We make a great team.

Many grins,
Fiona

PS. $21 Challenge books for $10 plus postage. ALMOST SOLD OUT!

We have been selling NZ copies of the $21 Challenge book to people in Australia for $10 per book plus postage for the last couple of weeks and we are close to running out. So if you want one please click here and be quick.

(Once these books are gone, we will not have any more books for a month or two.)

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: First Date

Tom looked at Pete and shook his head. His date with Chloe had started so well, but before he knew it, he'd stuffed everything up. The night was a disaster! "Mate, she is never going to talk to me again!" Pete struggled to find something to say to make him feel better, "Oh come on Tom, it can't have been that bad!"

Sally had been waiting all day to hear about Chloe's date. Her heart sank when she saw Chloe at the door looking like she'd just had the worst night of her life. "It was awful, Sal. The garlic bread was burnt. The waiter knocked the wine over, then the chef abused us and for some silly reason I started crying. I can't imagine what he must think of me! I actually cried. I cried on our first date!"

"She'll never go out with me again. The restaurant was a disaster, I bet she's telling her friends right now about the worst date she's ever had!" Tom wished he could block out the memory. "Oh mate, I'm sure she's over it by now," Pete said, hoping to get Tom in a better mood. "She hates me so much that she cried!" Tom sunk his head into his hands. "So what's your plan Tom?" Pete asked. "I'm thinking I might shave my head and join a monastery - at least I can't go upsetting any more women there!" Pete smiled wryly. "If that's the case, mate... can I have your tools?"

2. March is Hidden Gems Month!

Save us from McDonalds

Imagine how different their night would have been if Tom had known of a fantastic restaurant where they would have received impeccable service! But, that's the thing about restaurants, it can be hard to judge which ones are good. Often the best way is to ask a local - or go to a chain restaurant where you know exactly what to expect. This is why so many people go to chain restaurants. They see them as risk free; they know what is on offer before they even enter. It is also why they are so boring. There are no exciting surprises. No Hidden Gems!

Last holidays we drove from Buderim to Eden and back (4000 km's total!). My favourite stop was in Ulladulla. We found a beautiful Vietnamese bakery called Vince's Bakery. The food was stunning, it was affordable, it was delicious, it was hidden in the Franklins car park. If you're from Ulladulla, you may be reading this and saying, 'Of course, everyone knows Vince's is brilliant!' But if you're not, I hope you've made a note to visit Vince's if you're ever in Ulladulla. It is a true Hidden Gem!

I wish I'd found more Hidden Gems on our trip. I know they're out there! I know there are fantastic places where the 'locals go' in every town. So we're going to see if we can build up a list of the best places to eat when travelling around Australia and New Zealand. So when Simple Savers are on the move, we will all know exactly where to stop in for a tasty treat and no one will have to resort to Maccas!

If you're new to Simple Savings, you might be wondering what are these Hidden Gems that I keep talking about! Hidden Gems are shops that can be hard to find but stand out a mile from the competition because of their consistently good service and value for money. Because these stores are hard to find, we've been putting together a directory of them in the Vault so you can enter a postcode and it will give you a list of stores other Simple Savers have recommended in that area. We call it the Hidden Gem directory and you will find the link to it on the left hand side when you are logged into the Vault.

The directory is good, there are some great places in it, but we want to do better! So this year we are going to focus on improving one area of the directory each month. This month we are running a competition to uncover the Hidden food Gems in your area. What places would you recommend to eat at? This way we can put together a list for all Simple Savings Members to enjoy. We are offering six prizes of $50 each for the best entries received. So send us your best Hidden Gem here.

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

This month's winner is Harvey's on the Bay as nominated by Bianca Nicholls.

Harvey's on the Bay - 11 Buccaneer Drive, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia

The service at this restaurant is second to none. From the first time I had to bring a bunch of rowdy little girls out for lunch and they had water, glasses and colouring-in pencils and paper on the table before I had managed to sit everyone down, to the last time I visited with just my son and they gave him a free kid's lemonade because he was behaving so wonderfully. Meals are about on par with elsewhere in Hervey Bay (although some are divine) but the prices are about $5-$10 cheaper than elsewhere and the view out of the windows at the marina are pretty special too. Kids' meals are only $8.50 and come with a free frog in a pond dessert.

Last time I went I was telling our waitress how impressed I was with the service and she called the owner out to hear it. He actually praised his staff and told us how happy HE was with them which I liked.

The one time our meals took longer than about 20 minutes to get to us the staff came and warned us it could be a little longer because they had just had a rush of orders. But they still got the kids' meals out in about 15 minutes and ours were only 10 minutes behind.

My biggest tip is to just be nice to the staff. They truly do seem to appreciate it. They have $13 specials every day or every other meal is only $15. We quite often go after church on Sunday as they do a $10 Sunday roast!

Congratulations on being this month's winner, Bianca and a big 'well done' to Harvey's on the Bay for friendly customer service and great meals at a reasonable price. If you know somewhere special that others would like to know about, please write in and tell us. Send in your hidden gem here. Thank you and good luck!

4. Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Tracey D for this extract from his blog post 'Hello World. I'm a Girl':

I rolled over this morning and nearly jumped out of my skin - Tracey was sitting up in bed facing me.

"I think you better have a shower," she said.

Fifteen minutes later I'd also managed a shave.

"Call your mum," said Tracey, "but don't tell her I'm in labour. I don't want to jinx it again. Just invite her up for a coffee."

At 4.30am.

An hour later we were ready to head up to the hospital: not to have a baby, mind, just because it looks so nice in the early morning light and Tracey thought I should see it.

At the hospital, which was quite lovely nestled beneath the morning rain clouds, we stop-started our way towards the emergency entrance.

Up to the fourth floor: the mid-wife directed us into the waiting room. "It's time, is it?"

"Yes," said Tracey. And then it all stopped. "Oh, s***!"

Fortunately it started up again an hour later, only this time with instant vigour.

And at 8.35am this morning, little 'soon to be named' arrived at a healthy 7lbs 3oz. Miss0 is 51cm long with an apparently deceptively large head and is the most beautiful little cherub in the whole world. Both are doing well and as we speak the Devereaux and Lawrence clans are converging on the hospital to welcome our latest wonder.

Is there a feeling in the world to compare with a day like this? I'm forty-four and this is the seventh time I've been privileged enough to experience it, and I think not. I must say though that as a father, witnessing your wife endure the pain and being unable to do anything much about it, you do feel quite useless and unnecessary. All you can do is mutter encouragements, rub her back and make sure there's always cold water handy for sipping. Which I'm told is heaps, but every time we go through this I think 'When this is done she's going to hate me.'

Then today, same as every time, when I was leaving to tie up some loose ends, Tracey grabbed my hand.

"Hurry back," she said.

You girls really do forget everything just as soon as the baby comes out, don't you?! Our marriage is, I think, a testament to that innate ability.

Thank you to everyone who has been so forthcoming with their encouragements and blessings on this journey. But mostly, thank you to my sweet, darling wife for all she endures so willingly so we can have this big, wonderful family. x

Congratulations Tracey D! To read more from them, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Best of the Forum: The Best Shops Ever!

The quickest way to uncover your local Hidden Gems is to ask family and friends for their favourites. Our Forum is another superb source for discovering the best shops ever!

Attention Dunedin/Otago members - Hidden Gems

Sarah S. has been sharing her favourite stores with all her local NZ Simple Savers. Follow her clever lead and add your own 'best ever shops' to our Hidden Gems directory.
read more...

Brisbane best cheap bits

No one knows the insider secrets about a place like a local. Be guided to all the best bits of Brisbane by our Queenslander Simple Savers.
read more...

Best place to find a cheap flight to England in September

When looking for the best websites to help you book cheap flights, these online Hidden Gems are priceless!
read more...

And, for even more ideas...
Best site for last minute cheap airfares?

Educational toy shop?

Searching for first-rate toys and educational gifts? Our members have these excellent suggestions for both online and bricks and mortar shops. Take a look!
read more...

Op shops in Brisbane

If you love to dig up discounts at op shops, here is all the local knowledge for our Brissy based members. Go and bag yourself a bargain!
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: Smarter Shoppers

Many of our members put in a lot of time and effort uncovering the Hidden Gems in their area. Be guided by their experiences and rewarded with the savings you can make. Here are some of their tremendous tips from the Savings Vault so you too can be a smarter shopper!

Best value whole chickens at ALDI

The marinated whole chickens at ALDI are so economical! For around $10 you get the BEST tasting, best quality and so much meat! I usually buy two large chickens when I have a roast to feed my family of five, but I only need to buy one when I cook these. They are absolutely delicious and full of flavour. I recommend them to EVERYONE!

Contributed by: Leisel Finlayson

Don't miss the best pie bargains in NSW!

For the best pies at the best prices you have to check out Sargents Pies located on 3 Roper Road, in Colyton, NSW. They are only open on the first Saturday of the month from 8am until 11am. But they are so popular, people get there early (from 6am) to grab their ticket ready for the sales! It really is 'first come, first served', but the early start is worth it. You can pick up a box of up to 50 pies for just $13, a box of up to 90 assorted bread and rolls for only $5.00, or if you're planning a party, grab their boxes of party pies and sausage rolls in boxes of 72 for only $13! What unbelievable bargains! (Remember though, it's cash only.) www.sargents.com.au

Contributed by: Getting Better

Best and Less bargains

I have found that shopping at Best and Less is cheaper than shopping at Kmart or Target for things like underwear, manchester and especially children's clothes. I bought some outfits for my daughter the other day: these two-piece sets were only $12 each. After I bought them, I went into Target and for something similar they were charging almost double the price! I've also noticed that most Best and Less stores are out of the way, tucked around a corner in most malls. So now I check with the help desk to see if there is one whenever I'm shopping somewhere new.

Contributed by: Susan Sharf

Discounted car batteries for Queenslanders

My daughter saved $30 off a new car battery without any effort. The battery was originally $130 from Supercheap Auto, but as an RACQ member (free for under 20 year olds), she was entitled to a 20% discount (provided in the member's discount booklet). And by taking the old battery back, she also saved another $10. So instead of paying $130, she paid just $100!

Contributed by: Laurel Chamberlain

Cheap fish food from RSPCA

I've found a way to reduce my fish-feeding costs by more than a third and help a great cause at the same time!

I have two large fish tanks with approximately 50 goldfish in total that eat a huge amount of fish food per week. I used to buy from my local pet shop at a cost of $12 for a small container. After looking online, I came across the RSPCA store which sells a bulk 3.5kg bucket of good quality food for just $99 including postage, that's a saving of more than triple on what I was outlaying! Now I can put the extra towards other fish care items without blowing the budget! And, of course, I also felt good within myself because the funds were going to a good cause.

Contributed by: Kelly R

Extra tips for Vault members

The joys of small town op shops Contributed by: SB

Amazing free Android app makes shopping a breeze Contributed by: Ms Moneypenny

Best place to buy nuts in Dandenong Contributed by: Karen Bruni

Comcare membership for cheap fruit and vegies, Qld Contributed by: tina h

7. Cooking with Mimi: Hidden Supermarket Gems

When I shop, I usually whiz through the aisles, trying to get through the task as quickly as possible. But I must admit I love scouring the fresh vegie and spice shelves. One spice that I particularly love is sumac. It has a pungently fresh citrus-like flavour that pairs well with chicken, fish, pork and vegetables.

Another Hidden Gem in my cooking repertoire is pickling and brining. It can turn a few basic ingredients into gourmet fare! This month I'll share one of my favourite pickle recipes. Then, using the brining method and that one special spice, sumac, I'll share my secret method for turning a plain chicken breast, so often overcooked and tasteless, into something succulent, juicy, and bursting with flavour!

Five Minute Fennel and Pineapple Warmed Pickle Salad

(makes about 500g)

Serve this fragrant pickle warm as a side dish, or store in the fridge and allow the flavours to develop before using as you would any other pickle or relish. Prepare a day ahead for best results.

Equipment:

Small saucepan
Mandolin style slicer or very sharp knife
Dessert spoon
Measuring cups
Apple corer (if you don't have one, just use your knife)
Container with lid for storage

Ingredients:

2 small or 1 large fennel bulb
1 fresh pineapple
2 cups white vinegar
4 dsp sugar
12 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 tsp pickling spice or an equivalent amount of spice seeds
1 large red chilli, cut into fine slivers (optional)

Method:

Place the vinegar, spices, sugar and chilli in your small saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Wash your fennel bulb and remove the stems with foliage attached. Slice the bulb wafer-thin with the mandolin slicer or your sharp knife, and use the knife to slice the stems as finely as possible. If you like the scent of aniseed or liquorice, you'll recognise the fresh, sweet smell immediately.

Peel the pineapple using your sharp knife then use your apple corer or knife to remove the core and cut the flesh into four long wedges. Cut each wedge into fine slices.

Carefully drop your fennel and pineapple into the warm vinegar solution. I love the fragrance of tangy pineapple and the earthy fennel mingled together. It's utterly mouth-watering!

Bring your ingredients to a simmer. Turn the heat off and remove your saucepan, allowing your pickles to cool slightly. Transfer to your container and store in the fridge allowing the flavours to develop for at least 24 hours. The longer you leave it the more flavoursome it will become. To serve warmed, just remove the amount you need and microwave on high for about a minute.

Your Fennel and Pineapple Pickle can be served with any meat dish, but is particularly delicious with chicken, pork or fish. It'll be sublime with your Brined Sumac Chicken Skewers!

Brined Sumac Chicken Skewers (serves 4-6)

Brining is a little like marinating and a little like poaching. It gives the chicken a wonderful succulence and delicate flavour. You'll need to start preparation of your skewers about three hours ahead of serving. This is one recipe where you can get away with cheaper quality brine ingredients as you'll be discarding the liquid after resting the chicken breasts in it.

Equipment:

Large saucepan
Large deep bowl or container that will fit into your fridge
Measuring jug or measuring cups
Sharp knife
8-12 skewers, trimmed at the blunt end to fit into your frying pan
Large non-stick frying pan

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken breasts (or 1-2 double breasts) depending upon your family's appetite
1 litre water
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt (sounds like a lot but it's not in the context of the other ingredients, and you need it to balance the flavours)
Sumac
Extra vegies for the skewers like capsicum, onion, zucchini and so on
2 trays of ice cubes
Cooking oil

Method:

Place the water, soy sauce, oil, and sugar into your saucepan and stir over a high heat until the sugar is dissolved, then remove immediately from the hotplate. Add the ice cubes to the liquid to cool it to room temperature as quickly as possible (it can't be warm or it will start to cook the chicken). Transfer the liquid to your container, immerse the chicken breasts completely and refrigerate. Leave to rest for about two hours. In fact, you have a rest too. You deserve it!

After two hours, remove the chicken and discard the brine. Use your sharp knife to cut the chicken into fairly substantial chunks and thread on to the skewers. You can also thread wedges of onion, capsicum or other vegies between the chicken pieces if you like. Sprinkle the sumac liberally on every side of the chicken. It's not a 'hot' spice like chilli or curry, so use as much as you like. It's also a lovely reddish-brown colour, so your chicken will look really exotic!

Cook your skewers in the frying pan over a medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. When they're this thick, it's better to cook them a little slower and turn them often. The great thing about brining is that you'll impart a wonderful new flavour and succulence without worrying about burning the marinade in the pan, a common problem with many marinades due to their high sugar content.

Serve with a yummy salad and some rice or couscous and, of course, your fennel and pineapple pickle on the side.

Accept compliments with a cursory wave of your hand, because you're used to compliments at the dinner table by now! You'll never look at another chicken breast without wanting to give it a nice brine bath... mouth-watering and delicious!

8. Penny's Blog: Happiness is a Pair of Red Shoes

I have a confession to make. Don't worry, I haven't fallen off the wagon, I am still happily alcohol-free! But for the last 35 or so years I have felt something has been missing from my life - a pair of red shoes. You see, when I was little I had the most awkwardly shaped feet; they were so narrow it was almost impossible to get shoes to fit me. I dread to think how many hours my devoted mum and I spent getting measured in shoe shops and how many hundreds of pounds we must have spent on getting 'special shoes' ordered. Top quality, sturdy things they were indeed but the problem with these kind of 'special' shoes was that they looked anything but special. Whilst my other friends pranced around in beautiful red shoes and spangles, I clumped around in hideous brown T-bar creations. Never mind that I probably had the most expensive, highest quality leather shoes in the whole school, they weren't RED and when you're a five-year-old girl wanting to be like all the other five-year-old girls, things like that are nothing short of catastrophic.

Eventually I did grow my way out of those T-bars and into regular shoes like everyone else but never once did I become the proud owner of a pair of red ones. Until recently - and it's all thanks to a fellow savvy saver - Linda from the SS team! Like me, Linda is a beach chick. She has her own funky style and is the queen of groovy beach wear. Little did I know, however, that some of her most gorgeous outfits come from one of her favourite Hidden Gem stores! Unlike lazy old moi, as soon as Linda moved to Whangamata, she threw herself into finding out as much as she could about the area - the best place to buy fruit and vegies, the best place to buy meat - and obviously clothing. I swear after two weeks here she knew more people than I did! But that's how you find Hidden Gems, you have to get out there looking and once you find them, you're all set to save yourself a lot of money.

I was keen to investigate this mysterious Hidden Gem called 'The Changing Shed' but if there's one thing I have learned over the years it's that I should never go clothes shopping by myself unless I want to end up with a pile of ill-fitting, ill-suited garments I'm never going to wear again in a million years. An honest second opinion was what was needed and so Linda and I spent the morning of my 39th birthday op shopping (and eating cake). Never had op shopping been such a fun experience! The Changing Shed is an Aladdin's cave of rack upon rack of women's clothes and accessories. Most of the garments are top brand labels and all are in great condition. Linda whizzed around like a whirlwind picking out things for me to try and the two of us tried on one thing after the other, giving each other the thumbs up at the 'must haves' and cackling with laughter at the 'heck no's!' A fun morning indeed and I also had the pleasure of meeting the shop owner Liz, a lovely, friendly and helpful lady who went out of her way to make us welcome and show us where the best bargains were. I prepared to leave the shop clutching my new skirt, t-shirt and bag (this shop has the BEST collection of bags you can possibly imagine!) - and then I saw them. The most perfect pair of red shoes I had ever seen in my life and they were MY SIZE. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz would have been proud for sure! And there they were, sitting, waiting for me. It doesn't matter that they had impossibly high heels and I knew my mum would tease me forever for walking in them with bent knees. I had waited almost my whole life for a pair of shoes like this and now, on my 39th birthday they were to be mine. What a wonderful present!

Since then I have been back to The Changing Shed and had a ball stocking up on summer singlets. People always comment on my Ripcurl, Roxy and Billabong tops and can't believe it when I tell them they only cost $3.00! In addition, Liz also takes in good quality second hand clothing and you can either trade in your garments for money or choose to have store credit. Having lost 22kg in the past year I have a LOT of clothes I can no longer wear so for me this is perfect, I can take in all my clothing which no longer fits and walk out with a whole new wardrobe! I still have $70 to spend in store so I have a feeling I'll be back before too long! I'm so grateful to Linda for sharing her Hidden Gem and especially for my red shoes. Even now, their decadent red-ness makes me smile every time I look at them!

9. Lin's Garden Diary: Best Mates Grow Well Together

My two kids, Zoe and Seb, are best mates, they do everything together including tending the vegie garden! I love watching them plant seeds, watering the garden and having fun together. And just like Zoe and Seb, some plants get along really well together too. It's known as 'companion planting' and it's a great way to make the most of your garden. For example, carrots and peas go well together, as long as the carrots are on the sunny side! And of course, there are plants that need to be kept at separate ends of the garden too - as we found out when Seb decided he wanted to plant his beetroot next to the runner beans. The end result was dwarfed beetroots!

We have learnt so much about gardening over the past six months and part of our success is due to companion planting, it has huge benefits and is definitely worth trying! So before you get planting, think 'what' and 'where'! Spend some time planning what you want to plant and where you want to plant them!

Here are some great reasons to give companion planting a go:

Some plants release toxic materials which other plants can't handle.
Some root systems thrive off being next to their 'best mate'!
Best mates' produce better-flowering and heavier crops.
You'll have fewer weeds, pests and diseases, and therefore need fewer chemicals.
More crops! For example, we planted carrots with radishes on top. Because radishes grow quickly, they are harvested before the carrots really begin to grow! Great for people with limited garden space.
Just like mates help each other, so do some plants! Beans and corn are good companions as the beans use the corn as a climbing frame.

As you can see there are lots of benefits to be had by planting 'mates' next to each other. Here is our list of what's good and what's not!

What's good:

Basil and tomato
Runner beans, corn, carrots, peas and lettuce
Beetroot and lettuce
Broccoli and potatoes
Lettuce, strawberries and marigolds
Marigolds, I have lots of these in the garden as they go with just about anything and they help keep away the eel-worm and dogs! Dogs hate the smell!

What's not:

Beetroot and runner beans
Onions and beans
Strawberries and tomatoes

You don't need to be an expert; you just need to find the right information! I gathered mine from various sources including the book 'Get Fresh' by Dennis Greville and my favourite magazine 'Your Home and Garden'. Some of my best information was from the Forum and Vault!

So come and join us in the Forum, share your tips and together we can plant 'best mates forever'!

10. Homeopathy Corner: Is it normal?

Homeopathy is the ultimate Hidden Gem for the health of your body and mind! We often just accept illnesses, moodiness and odd behaviour as something that we have to put up with. However, what we often don't realise is that these odd behaviours can be a sign that the body is trying to fix itself. With the right homeopathic remedy, we can help speed up this process and see a return to normal behaviour.

There is a great example in this month's article. Fran talks about how she uses a remedy known as Hyoscyamus niger (Hyos) to treat children and adults who are displaying inappropriate sexual behaviour. Here is a link to this month's article:-

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/inappropriate-sexual-behaviour-in-children/

11. From Last Month: Radishes!

Last month Michelle Obama asked:

"I'm having real trouble with my organic vegetable garden. The secret service agents keep digging it up and planting listening devices in my radishes. Does anyone know how I can fix this?"

We received some great response from last month's silly help request. Here is the best one. It was sent in by Julie B.

Dear Michelle,

I'm sure we all understand how pesky those secret service agents can be. While they can be annoying sometimes, it is important to remember that they are really very playful and energetic and in most instances, quite easy to train. This may require a little patience but the girls may be able to help after school and on weekends.

First, provide them with their own special place to dig to their hearts' content. I would suggest a nice, large sandpit. Put it on the other side of the lawn, away from the radishes. Add a few spades and buckets and embed a few wires for them to trace and they should be happy for days. If you can toss in a few fake terrorists now and then, they will have hours of harmless fun.

If they continue to play in the vegie garden, there are a few things you can do to make it seem unpleasant to them when you don't have time to shoo them away (and what busy, working mother does?). Pepper spray is quite harmless but the average secret service agent is generally happy to avoid it. Set up a few cans at the corners of the garden and rig them to infrared beams. When the beam is broken by an agent heading into the garden, the spray will be released and the agent will run back to the safety of the sandpit. You don't even need to set it up yourself, the boys at the FBI love a good party prank and are always trying to get one up on the secret service boys. They will be only too happy to help.

For the more stubborn members of the group, a row of dummy landmines will do the trick. While not actually dangerous, they do make a very loud noise and will frighten off even the hardiest of agents. If Barry doesn't feel capable of doing it himself, I'd suggest calling in the marines. This is one of their favourite games and for the price of a good crew cut; they will work all night for you.

In no time at all, you should be enjoying a lovely crop of radishes.

Best regards,
Julie

12. This Month's Help Request: Home with Pets

Leonie from Canberra asked:-

"How can a couple with pets and without children reduce the costs of owning a home - mortgage and associated running costs, bills and so on? Nowhere seems to cater for people like us. We don't need a huge home but we do need a yard for our dog and chickens. How do people like us find affordable housing?"

If you have any tips which can help Leonie, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: On My First Challenge!

I'm doing my first $21 Challenge and have already discovered great new recipes and great new ways to save!

After receiving The $21 Challenge book for Christmas, I sat down and read it and was totally inspired. I hadn't done a big shop for Christmas as there was only going to be my husband and myself so I decided I couldn't wait to take the Challenge!

I went through my pantry, fridge and freezer and documented everything in alphabetical order. I discovered I had all the ingredients for the Cream of Anything Cup-a-Soup recipe in the book (page 179) so that was the first thing I made - and it was very tasty too! Next I made the Toasted Muesli with all sorts of tasty ingredients including nuts, seeds, sultanas and craisins. Delicious! I also have enough ingredients for the Bulk Biscuits (page 176) so will make them next week.

We have lots of tasty vegies, herbs and berries growing in our garden including beans, peas, silverbeet, potatoes, spring onions, basil, parsley, corn, cucumber, cabbage, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries and rhubarb. Plus we get two dozen eggs from our chickens each week! This has given us a huge head start. And to fill our freezer, we managed to purchase bulk meat from a friend who sent a steer to market a few weeks ago.

So far this week, all I have had to buy is:

two litres of Ashgrove milk ($4.06) which I made up to four litres with skim milk powder in pantry
a loaf of bread ($2.00)
two packets of Arnotts crackers (on special, $1.89 each)
a piece of cabana ($1.77)
four bananas ($0.85c)
two litres of orange juice ($3.17)
a kilo of onions ($1.80)

That is a total of just $17.43 with two days to go!

We have so much home-grown produce that I'll be doing the Challenge again in two weeks' time. It's a great feeling to get exactly what we needed for the week without trudging around the supermarket aisles! Thank-you so much for the inspiration!

Margaret Blair

14. So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Thank you for dropping by for another month of saving fun! I hope you enjoyed it!

Best of luck finding your Hidden Gems. We look forward to seeing you next month!

All the best,
Fiona

February 2014 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - February 2014

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Wake-Up Call
February: No Spend
Ye Olde Shoppe: The $21 Challenge - The Ultimate No-Spend Guide!
Penny Wise: The Low Cost of Joy
Best of the Vault: Stop, Think, Save!
Best of the Forum: Hey, Big Spender!
Best Members' Blog: I Just Paid off My Mortgage!
Cooking with Mimi: Wind Down With Herbal Iced Teas
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Home Grown Compost
From Last Month: Party Time!
This Month's Help Request: Help With Grime Fighting!

Hello,

Hello! How are you going? It has been wonderful to see so many of you taking on the Challenges in the January 'Get into Gear' Newsletter on the Forum and we'd like to thank Claire for the wonderful job she does putting all the information together - thank you, Claire! Here's to making your February a 'No-Spend' one - we hope you'll find some tips, ideas and motivation here to get you going.

We love hearing from you - here are our favourite emails this month:

"I have been a member of Simple Savings since 2008 and have recommended your site (and gifted the $21 Challenge book) to many friends. I always look forward to your newsletter and read it from top to bottom. I find it really helpful for keeping sensible spending top of mind! I download your 'Calendar of Awesomeness' every year and incorporate into our lives. You always provide something fresh and invigorating. In short, you have provided so many of us with the means and mechanisms to really get in control of what we spend (and therefore what we save) and I am so grateful to you for making it simple, fun and community friendly. Please keep up the good work." (Melanie)

"I just wanted to thank you for this wonderful site. It keeps me motivated to stay focussed, especially the newsletters I receive via email. This year I am hoping to stick to my goals and learn to save more. I have learnt how to save money, be frugal and live sustainably. With all the January sales happening (and that Dyson vacuum cleaner I really want!) it is a great feeling to think, 'Do I really need this, or do I want this?', and walk away knowing it can wait or it is an impulse buy." (Stephanie)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. We have reached 15,000 likes on Facebook - come and join us for even more hints and help!
Simple Savings Facebook Page

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Wake-Up Call

"Hanna - how do you hide things from John? You know, as in things you've bought?" Sally asked from across her desk. "Um, I don't know, I don't really hide anything from him!" laughed Hanna. "Apart from birthday and Christmas presents of course - what sort of 'things' are we talking about?" "Oh, nothing really," Sally tried her best to sound casual. "I've just got this friend you see. She bought some things - sort of big things - and she thought she needed them but then she realised her husband wouldn't approve and now she's stuck with these things that she can't show him and still has to pay for them too...".

Hanna smiled kindly at Sal. "Sal, are you sure it's a friend you're talking about?" "Ohh it's me," Sally groaned. "I went shopping with Chloe last month and bought a heap of bargains at Henry Newman's but I got the bill this morning and it's almost $700! Honestly Hanna, Pete would go mad if he knew, we're supposed to be saving!" "How come he doesn't know already? Surely he would have noticed all the new stuff?" asked Hanna. "No, he hasn't seen it yet. It's still in the boot of Chloe's car - I haven't dared take it out!" Sally confessed. "I mean, how do you hide something like a vacuum cleaner?"

Hanna couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing. "It's not funny! What should I do?" Sally scowled. "How on earth am I going to come up with that sort of money?" "Well if everything is still boxed and in Chloe's car and you still have the docket, why don't you return it? That way it won't cost you anything and Pete need never know. It can be mine and Chloe's secret," Hanna grinned. "But Sal - you've had a really lucky escape. Why don't you show Pete just what an awesome saver you can be. Time to pull out all the stops lady!"

2. February: No Spend

It would be lovely if life was smooth sailing ALL the time! Unfortunately for most of us it has a habit of throwing a spanner in the works and whether it be through unforeseen circumstances or through our own doing as in Sally's case, sometimes the need arises when you really do need to 'pull out all the stops' in order to get through. Fortunately at Simple Savings we know the perfect antidote for senseless splurges and monetary messes - No Spend Month!

Believe it or not, this year marks FIVE years of No Spend Months at Simple Savings! When coming up with the challenges for the 2014 calendar, this was the first 'must have' challenge we picked to go in it. Why? Because members love it and it really does work. The results speak for themselves year after year. It's drastic, it's regimented, it's harsh - but it can also be great fun, it can bring out the creative streak in your household and bring you closer together in a common goal and very importantly, it can get you out of a financial hole.

What is No Spend Month?

If you haven't heard of or participated in No Spend Month before, the rules are simple. Your mission is to avoid spending money on ANYTHING in February other than the absolute essentials for your work, education or survival. Obviously there will be some things you cannot avoid, such as basic food and prior bills but apart from that your mission is to make sure you don't buy anything that is not essential.

For example, this month you should NOT be buying:-

Take away food of any sort
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Frozen dinners
Movies or DVDs
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol

Things you CAN spend money on:-

Rent or mortgage
Basic food
Utilities
Insurance
Petrol
Car
Health care
School essentials (meaning uniform, camps or stationery requirements, NOT money for the canteen!)
Other prior bills (we don't want you incurring late fees!)

It may sound harsh but that's because it's meant to be! No Spend Month brings results. Instead of thinking about 'going without', focus on the positives and imagine how much you would save by NOT buying anything on that top list for a month. Imagine how much headway you could make. Imagine all the things you could do to get ahead financially if you managed to keep all that money in your bank instead of automatically handing it over to shopkeepers for things you don't need. You could use it to pay off a credit card. You could pay some extra off the mortgage and save yourself some interest. You could use it to create an emergency fund to bring a little extra peace of mind. You could use it for a reward or holiday for your family. Put like that, isn't it worth the effort for a few short weeks? It's also a great way to teach younger family members the difference between a 'want' and a 'need' because let's face it, we all get a little confused between the two sometimes and confusion can be very costly!

Time to step up!

We started the year gently by using Get into Gear month as a time for planning, organising and goal setting. Now it's time to show what you can REALLY do! Join us in No Spend Month by doing the following:

Fill in your free Savings Diary. If you haven't already been doing this in January it's not too late to start. This is a particularly valuable tool during No Spend Month as it really helps to highlight where every cent is going, how much of what you spend is essential - and how much isn't. Brilliant for strengthening that steel resolve! You can fill in your own personal spending log every day of the year here.

Print off your free Purchasing Planner. Being organised is one of the big keys to saving money. Planning your day in advance will help you avoid getting caught out and having to part with money unexpectedly. Download and print off your planner here and fill it in each night or before you leave the house to make your No Spend days as easy and productive as possible.

Fill in the Save-O-Meter. Every time you find a way NOT to spend, enter in your results on the communal Save-O-Meter on the Simple Savings website. All those 'we were going to but we didn't' amounts really add up! Seeing your savings mount up this way also makes it easier to fill in your own personal Save-O-Meter for your household (found in your 2014 calendar). Watch those dollars grow!

Join us in the Forum. The Simple Savings team is always on hand to support and advise you but if you are a Vault member you can get even more from our monthly challenges by keeping an eye on our Forum challenge threads. You will be inspired, you will be motivated, you will be encouraged and most of all, you will be welcomed! You can't miss these threads; you'll find them at the top of the Forum every day of each month and are brilliantly run by Simple Savings superstar Claire M. Whether you choose to stay in the background or jump right in, there is much to be gained from these friendly discussions.

Last but not least - Don't spend a cent you don't have to! Best of luck with your No Spend Month - be sure to let us know how you go!

3. Ye Olde Shoppe: The $21 Challenge -

The Ultimate No-Spend Guide!

"The $21 Challenge" book is the ultimate No-Spend Guide! Find instant money by doing a $21 Challenge and make meals from next to nothing from ingredients lurking in your cupboards, freezers and fridges. Find out why everyone is talking about 'Baked Heaven Pastries' and learn the tricks of stretching those grocery dollars until they twang!

You can read the first two chapters for free here

Or purchase your own copy of The $21 Challenge here.

4. Penny Wise: The Low Cost of Joy

It's 8.30am and the smell of freshly baked banana cake is wafting around me as I type. It's for a certain sleeping giant, who is blissfully unaware, still tucked up cosy with his beloved little dog. Yes, Liam is home! It's been a week already and the wonderful thing is, it's as though he's never been away. He's happy to be back and Ali and I are very happy to have him back. And, as another bonus (well, kind of), he cannot stop eating! Whilst this is not so good news for the budget, it's certainly good news for this worried mum, as in the weeks before he left, he literally existed on next to nothing so I'm hoping that this massive increase in appetite is due to the fact that my boy is finally feeling settled and happy. Long may it last, hooray!

Everything just feels better now the three of us are back together - even the dogs are happier! We've been going for walks on the beach all together in the evenings and it's just lovely. The boys kick a rugby ball around, Hubble rushes about like a mad thing and Minnie trudges along stoically next to her mum, nose to the ground, completely oblivious to everything and everyone around her. As any Simple Saver knows, it's the simplest things which are often the greatest and most precious and it's times like these I treasure. We still have a long road ahead - Nawtypoo is still ours but we still have to work hard to keep her! Still, at least now we're all together and on the same page, understanding and supporting one another it doesn't seem quite so daunting. And, as the saying goes, there is always someone worse off than yourself. I sent an old school friend a Happy New Year message the other day on Facebook. Like me, his marriage had ended last year and he had also just been made redundant from his job as a chef before Christmas to boot. I wished him a happier and far less stressful year than the previous one. My heart broke when I received a message back almost immediately, 'I had to make myself bankrupt today'. And I thought I had it tough! I wanted to slap myself in the face. I've always known I had it easier than a lot of solo parents but this really made me count my blessings a thousand times over. Even so, I was really impressed by his positive attitude. If anyone deserves a break this year it's this chap and I really hope he gets one.

I've been on a bit of a health kick lately - that's a whole other blog! But one of the new joys Ali and I have discovered is tramping. We've been quite a bit over the past few weeks and love it. We're fortunate to have plenty of beautiful walks in our area and we can pretty much take our pick from 90 minute tracks to three and a half hour hikes and beyond. Apart from the teensy cost of petrol to get there it's basically free, we just pack a few snacks and water bottles and off we go! The other day we went to a place called Luck at Last Mine, less than 10 minutes drive from our house. It was beautiful! Although I have to say it has definitely been given the right name because you're flipping lucky if you ever find that mine. After four hours of puffing, sweating and climbing seemingly to no avail we had seen enough of the great NZ bush and traipsed our way back but even so our enthusiasm has not been dampened and already we are planning our next adventure!

Not a bad way to spend a weekend. I just wish there were more weekends in the week! The school holidays are flying by and the boys have been working crazy hours but Ali has just enjoyed a wonderful week being a Simple Saver the best way he knows how - by catching his own food. In the five days he has shot a deer for the freezer, waited patiently in a creek and caught, prepared and cooked his own brown trout for dinner, then went fishing with a friend and brought home two snapper, which we simply pan fried in butter and lemon pepper and served with broccoli, beans, potatoes and salad, ALL freshly picked from my garden. Made me feel very self-satisfied and abundant I can tell you! Although I'm off to the op shop this morning to see if I can pick up any old net curtains as the pesky birds will NOT leave my tomatoes alone. I wouldn't mind if it was just the odd one but they get to EVERY ripe one before I do - and I feed the little blighters every day as it is!

If there's one thing all three of us seem to have learned from being apart it's that we appreciate each other and what we have a lot more. The best times we spend together cost nothing and whereas it was always me who seemed to do everything when it came to taking care of Nawtypoo, the boys are also more pro-active around the place now and like to keep it looking nice. With all the trees and gardens to take care of it does feel like a large and never ending job but they have really stepped up with things such as pruning back trees, chopping firewood, weeding and mowing lawns - even if it means we have to have a cricket pitch in the middle of the back yard! We were fortunate enough to meet some lovely neighbours just before Christmas who have a holiday home next door to us. They only come to stay every few weeks and often less but they have been so sweet to us from the start. The first time they popped their heads over the fence it was to ask us if we wanted a free Christmas tree as they were about to chop down two large pine trees on their property. Unfortunately we already had a Christmas tree - but we did need firewood! As it turned out, the husband is a qualified arborist and the boys went round to help with the felling of the trees. In return we got a whole shed full of firewood for the winter and an enormous pile of free mulch for the garden. In fact, there is so much mulch that they even offered it as a money maker for the boys, selling and delivering it to keen gardeners in the area. Such kind and generous people! The boys and I have been mulching the gardens together and it's a great feeling to know that even though it's the height of summer, we already have all the dry firewood we need to keep us warm all year when winter comes around.

As you can probably tell, I'm feeling a lot more positive than in recent blogs! The pressure is still on though of course and I'm still hoping to get an evening job. Unfortunately whilst Whangamata is still relatively busy it is a lot quieter this year; the volume of people has already diminished a lot (which is brilliant if you're a resident but not if you're a business owner!) This means that most of the businesses are not having to take on any more extra staff but still, will keep an eye out for anything which comes up and the boys are very supportive as they understand how important it is. They both get paid weekly and were flabbergasted recently to learn that it's not the same for everyone and their mum has to make her payday last a whole month. 'That's such a long time! How do you DO it?' they asked. Exactly, I winked! All of a sudden they understood far better why NOT spending money really is so important and that Mum isn't just a boring old party pooper!

Amazing to think that this year I will have been a Simple Saver for 10 years! And I have to say that with the exception of the first year, where the concept of saving money (and indeed HAVING to) was almost an alien subject to me and I was like a sponge, soaking up every tip I came across, this year is proving to be the most valuable and rewarding - and it's only January! The tips are just as important now as they ever were and I love seeing all the new ones which come in and taking on board the ones which are relevant to me - but this year it's the inspiration from other members I am finding most valuable. I was so excited to read of Claire M's thoroughly well-deserved new kitchen! And GoGo Goanna's post-Christmas vow 'Re-evaluate luxuries and enjoy as you save' has already saved our family so much money - it really is so true. So many wonderful stories, too many to mention but my ultimate dream is to be a Shane O'Donnell. Shane is a Simple Saver from several years back who saved $30,000 in a single year. While this might be a far-off dream for me at the moment, I really like how Shane went to the trouble of sharing exactly how she managed to make such a huge saving, even including some of the frugal recipes which helped her. I remember Fiona interviewing Shane in a podcast back in the day when Simple Savings had its own weekly broadcast and it was amazing to listen to. If I can be a Shane O'Donnell in the home and a Felicity Kendall in the garden I will be one very happy and productive Penny Wise!

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

5. Best of the Vault: Stop, Think, Save!

Make the most of No-Spend month by planning and tracking every dollar. Ask yourself if you are about to spend your precious dollars on a 'need' or a 'want'? Even 'needs' can often be done less expensively by substituting, op-shopping or borrowing from friends and family. Here are some great tips to get you started on your 'No Spend February'...

Set a cash limit

I have just started doing the $21 Challenge, and today when I went shopping I took only the maximum amount of cash I was willing to spend. In the past, I've found it was too easy to just keep putting items in my trolley, and I'd come out being disappointed for spending money I didn't really have. That meant, of course, that I had less money to pay my bills. So today, I went in with my list and only the cash I was willing to spend and still came out spending less than I had planned!

Contributed by: NightOwl

Our daily money watch

This year is the year for improved financial diligence and discipline in our family. My husband and I both work full time and watch our money - although in the past, we sometimes felt that we were watching it disappear! Not anymore.

We're continuing to watch what we spend, but with a twist. This year, we're keeping track of how much money we spend each day and writing that amount on the calendar. It only takes a few minutes to do and is eye-opening and motivating!

Not only are we challenged to reconsider what we buy, but we've also worked out on which days we spend the most money. For example, by the end of the working week we're more likely to buy our lunch, so we've put steps in place to combat this by taking extra lunches to work on Wednesday so they're already in the work fridge for Thursday and Friday. Our daily money watch also motivates us to increase our number of 'spend-free' days.

This trick is free, takes very little time, and is working well for us. It makes saving money more fun as we try to come up with creative ways to spend less money and, of course, it's very rewarding to look back over the days and see the amounts we've spent getting smaller.

Contributed by: Katy R

Take a second look at your shopping list

After reading 'The $21 Challenge', I now take a second look at my shopping list to see if I can make further savings. For example, I had butter on my list recently, but realised I could extend what I already had by beating it in warm water. This is a trick my mother used during the Depression, but such extended butter cannot be used for baking. This enabled me to take butter off my list!

I swapped raisins for sultanas, which are cheaper, and decided I could make an eggless cake, so the eggs came off the list too. I also had condensed milk on my list, but crossed that off when I saw the condensed milk substitute in 'The $21 Challenge'.

By taking another look at my list I was able to make further savings of around $8.00 - a real help on a tight budget.

Contributed by: Brenda Winchester

6. Best of the Forum: Hey, Big Spender!

It can be hard to change ingrained habits without support, ideas and inspiration. Look no further than our resourceful and encouraging Forum members to get some help with your 'No Spend' February (and don't forget to use your Save-O-Meter to watch those savings grow!)

2014 - Can WE go any lower?

Your 'No Spend' challenge is incomplete without a word from Cheshire Cat and fellow members who continue Joan's legacy of living fully and frugally! (We miss you Joan!)
read more...

2014 - I will not buy my lunch in February challenge

Poppy and friends have some wonderful ideas to help you break that expensive lunch habit - get organised and get saving!
read more...

No Pain, No Gain Frugality 3... small leaks sink great ships

Mimi and fellow members help each other with those everyday spending decisions that can make or break a budget - some great motivation for your 'No Spend' challenge.
read more...

What are the best ways to reduce spending on groceries?

Share your ideas with Claire and other members... substitute, reduce and a bit of imagination are all ideas to keep those dollars in your pocket!
read more...

Under $5 dinners - healthy, tasty and frugal!

Don't think it can be done? Well, let Persephone and friends show you differently with ideas for frittatas, crunchy Asian salads and stuffed potatoes!
read more...

7. Best Members' Blog: I Just Paid Off My Mortgage!

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a $100 store credit in Ye Olde Shoppe, or $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log in to the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is one of our members Frogdancer who reached a longed-for milestone with this triumphant announcement!

Seventeen years ago, I bought a little 1950's weatherboard with my then-husband in a quiet suburb in Melbourne's South East. We had four sons aged five, three, two and a three-week-old baby. The house had one lounge, one bathroom, one toilet but four bedrooms and we figured that as time went on we could extend. The mortgage was 96K.

A year later we divorced and I had to buy him out. The court set the figure at 18K so the mortgage rose to 115K. The next few years were very hand to mouth as I was a single SAHM till the last son started primary school. I then started teaching again casually and then got a nine month full time teaching contract at my local high school. Our car was falling to bits so I bought a three-year-old Ford station wagon. The mortgage went up another 15K. I vowed to have the mortgage down below pre-car levels by the time the contract ran out. I did.

I kept getting contract after contract. Meanwhile, I cleverly fixed the mortgage for five years, only then to see interest rates plummet. D'OH! Still, I consoled myself with the fact that at least I knew how much my payments were. I kept on. When the school offered me a permanent position, I knew that now we were safe. I took the boys on a holiday to Bali (then Thailand the next year because we had so much fun) and I started renovating. I was going to pay off the house first and then save for a new bathroom and kitchen but then I thought it'd be better to get it done while they were all still living with me and we could all get the benefit. So the mortgage rose to $199,995. There's no way I was going over the 200K level.

Since then I have been chipping away at it, enjoying each time it fell another 10K. At first it was slow, but then momentum started to build up. I chose not to do a lot of things on my way towards freedom, but one choice made a huge difference. I went to a Thermomix demonstration and I bought one. Three weeks later I became a consultant. From memory, my mortgage was hovering around the 100-90K mark. This was two years ago, just before Christmas. During 2012 I worked full time as a teacher and was a demonstrator on the side. I earned a free trip to Hong Kong which I was rapt about. Travel was one of the sacrifices I'd chosen to make to get rid of the mortgage.

Last year I swapped my mortgage to a different bank. It was 77K and the lower interest rate made a HUGE difference. The principle started melting away before my eyes. I re-doubled my efforts and started hurling every dollar I could at it. My house has a leaky spot in the guttering, it needs painting and my curtains are so dated it's embarrassing. It needs awnings out the front. But I kept patting her, saying, 'Don't worry, hold it together. Let me pay you off, save for Europe in 2015 and then I'll look after you.'

In 2013 I took on a Group Leader position in Thermomix and dropped a day of teaching so I could attend fortnightly meetings. I was scared to drop my wage, but I gave it a go, thinking that if I was able to double what I was losing, then I'd be happy. I did that. I also earned another free trip, this time to Sun City, South Africa.

Yesterday I looked at my statement and couldn't help but notice that my savings were $10 more than my mortgage of $12,330. It was more than flesh and blood could stand. I paid it all across.

I have no emergency fund, no holiday savings; nothing. But I have my freedom. It took 17 years.

Well done Frogdancer - we salute you!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

8. Cooking with Mimi: Wind Down With Herbal Iced Teas

Lighting a few candles at dusk, enjoying a chilled champagne flute of lightly sweetened herbal tea, the gentle tinkle of ice cubes with fresh mint suspended in them adding to the enjoyment. It's our new favourite way of winding down.

Add a little crystal dish with a tablespoon or two of Rice Snacks in it, a conversation with our daughter about her day, hand watering our pot plants, picking a few fresh herbs for the evening meal, and you've got the perfect scenario for a peaceful evening.

Relaxing and winding down doesn't have to mean drinking alcohol. When I was young, no-one we knew routinely drank alcohol in the evenings. We were aware that other families made it part of their routine, and their budget, but it wasn't on most families' list of priorities. Things are different now, and these days, relaxing means a glass of wine. Socialising means a few glasses of wine. It doesn't have to be the case.

We're making a stand against this idea in our house. We love a nice cold glass of Sav Blanc as much as the next person, but it's a poor example to set for our 14-year-old daughter, and we're determined to show her that 'relaxing' or 'socialising', doesn't have to mean 'alcohol'.

Our strategy is to have other options available. Most evenings it will be an iced herbal tea of some sort. Other nights, it might be a chilled soup in little teacups like a Gazpacho (chilled tomato soup) or a Vichyssoise (chilled potato soup) as a sort of early entré, which means we'll only want a light evening meal too. A light mocktail like a Virgin Mary or a fruity punch may make an occasional appearance. If we have guests, they'll be offered the same, and I actually think they'll enjoy the change.

As with everything, the presentation is important to make it really feel like a treat. So break out the fancy glasses, a pretty tray, a sprig of flowers and some serviettes.

Here's my favourite recipe for herbal tea, served chilled.

You'll need:

1-2 litre jug or container of some sort
Ice cube trays
1 lemon, sliced
1/2 small cucumber, sliced (you can replace the lemon and cucumber with other fruits or herbs to enhance the flavour of your tea if you prefer)
Sprigs of fresh mint, berries or other sweet herbs or fruit
6 herbal teabags of choice; a combination is nice. Try mint and chamomile or peach and raspberry
Sugar or Stevia
Pretty glasses or champagne flutes and a tray or platter of some sort

How to do it:

First thing in the morning or the night before, pick some fresh mint, hull some berries or halve some grapes and add them to ice cube trays, filling the trays with water and freezing them.

Then fill a pretty jug or container with water and add lemon and cucumber slices. Let that steep for a couple of hours.

At around lunch time or when you get home from work, get your six herbal teabags... all the same or a mixture and make up the tea 'concentrate'. Add the six teabags to about 500ml boiling water and allow it to brew for about 10 minutes. Add two to three teaspoons of sugar or some Stevia to the brew if you want a touch of sweetness, remove the teabags and chill it well.

Remove the lemon and cucumber slices from the water, drink a glass or two of the flavoured water to make room for the tea brew and add the brew to the chilled jug of water. Then it goes back into the fridge.

Get a tray ready with a little crystal dish of rice snacks or similar if you wish, a flower or sprig of herbs for decoration and set up your champagne flutes or pretty glasses.

Then all you have to do is add the ice cubes and pour out your herbal iced tea. Top up your glass as desired, guilt-free.

You'll feel more refreshed and relaxed and you'll be doing your waistline and your wallet a huge favour.

Enjoy!

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Home Grown Compost

We've had to reign in the garden budget at the moment due to the cost of setting up the new re-circulating aquaculture system (fish farm). I'm lucky that we have free fertiliser just lying around and growing in the yard just waiting to process and use.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways we can feed up the beds is by cleaning out the chicken pen and yard. Greens from the patch, tall grass from the fence line, kitchen scraps and lawn clippings from the back yard all go in to their pen on a regular basis. At the moment they are also being treated to a self service tomato bar and a fair few mangoes that have been knocked down by possums and flying foxes.

What isn't devoured by the girls is scratched around the pen, mixed with manure and then composts down. Their varied diet means that the manure is rich and when added to the composted scraps/clippings in their pen makes for a very rich additive for the garden. It's packed with organic matter to help feed the compost worms in the garden beds which is another bonus. The last lot that was collected was added to our sweet corn bed which was sown out on the 7th of January and I think the results speak for themselves. :)»

We've also been composting garden and lawn scraps and out in the front yard we have a pile that is mainly lawn clippings under a stand of pigeon pea bushes. This pile, if left alone, would eventually break down but as I'm impatient I have been boosting it with some other prunings from the yard. As the pile is mainly a cold composting grass clippings heap it does tend to dry out a little and become slightly hydrophobic, not allowing water to penetrate deep into the pile. To combat this I like to give it a water whenever anything is added and turned over. A few different bits from around the patch have been added to this heap. The first lot of goodies to go in was the old pumpkin and spaghetti squash vines that had been growing out the front. They were run over with the mower to make the composting process faster and then buried in the centre of the pile.

I was most surprised to find that the composting process had started the very next day with the centre of the pile hitting 60°C/140°F. I think the fresh greenery added the nitrogen and moisture that the pile needed to boost the composting process. A few weeks ago we also started to add the pips and skin from the mangoes we harvested. We have found that mangoes and pineapple in particular attract black soldier flies into the compost where they lay their eggs. These flies are great to have around as not only are their larvae great composters, the adult flies release chemicals that tend to keep house and blow flies away.

In no time at all these little composters can devour your scraps (including meat and some dairy if in a purpose built farm) into waste that can then be composted down further into a great fertiliser. We actually have a fair few mangoes that have been blown by Queensland fruit fly so they too will be going into the pile. Before adding them we put them into a bag or bucket with a lid and leave them out in the sun for a few days. The heat kills the fruit fly larvae that would otherwise continue their life cycle in the compost pile and become pests later on.

Over the weekend some mulched up weed tree branches and pigeon pea bushes were added before giving the pile a good turn over and soaking. The pigeon pea will help add extra nitrogen to the mix and the leaf mulch will add beneficial microbes as it had already started to break down in the barrel. When the next batch of mangoes go into the pile another load of pigeon pea mulch will also go in as well.

Mulch is another product you can grow, chop/mulch up and add to the garden to save you some coin. Some good sources for home grown mulch that we have used in the past are lemongrass, comfrey and pea plants. A new one we have been able to try this Summer is corn stalks. Rather than trying to compost them down, I thought it would make a great mulch on the bed it was grown in. That way it can slowly break down and become food for the compost worms in the bed. So far I think it's doing a great job and it will be interesting to see how long it takes to break down.

Hope that gives folks a few ideas on how they might use plants and prunings from the patch in different ways to help them out and save them some coin. Let me know if you have any other great ways to processes organic matter for free on site.

That's about it for this month's blog. I should be able to introduce you to some new residents in the patch next blog.

Cheers all,

Rob : )»

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

10. From Last Month: Party Time!

Last month Petra emailed us asking for ideas on holding a unique but Simple Savings-inspired birthday celebration for her dad:

"My dad's 60th birthday is coming up and although I don't have a lot of money to spend, I want to put on a really unique birthday party for him. I'm not very creative and would love some ideas about where, and how, to cater for about 50 people. We have a bit of money put aside to hire a hall if necessary but all the invitations, decorations and food will be 'home-made'. I really want this to be something he'll remember, so need your help!"

We got so many fantastic ideas for Petra - thank you! Here are some of our favourite replies:

A little credit goes a long way

When trying to keep party costs down don't be afraid to ask prospective guests to help with the food. Perhaps a friend or relative is good at making cakes - ask if they would make one as a gift. Also you can ask others to 'gift' their time to help with decorations - especially if you know they are on a budget and may struggle to find the money for a gift. Most will be happy to be involved directly with the party; it will save them having to think what to buy the person and they know their 'gift' will be appreciated. Give a little credit where due on the day by making tags such as 'Table decorations made by Auntie Flo', 'Sausage rolls hand-made by Aunt Jane', 'Crockery loaned and will be washed up by Fred' and so on. The party VIP will be delighted that everyone has got together to plan the day and everyone will enjoy the party better knowing there's no big bills to follow!

Contributed by: Helendt

Rock around the frugal clock

Since your dad was born in the 50's, why not have a 'back to the 50's' fancy dress party? This way you can let people's costumes and the theme be the focus for the night, rather than a large cost. Do some research on what sorts of things were popular in those days and decorate as frugally as possible by borrowing where you can and scouring op shops. Some cheap ideas for decorations:

Laminate black and white 1950's photographs printed off from the Internet. You don't even need a laminator to do this; your iron will seal the laminate pouches - just remember to put a tea towel over them first.
Hang old fashioned vinyl records from fishing line from the ceiling - you can pick these up super cheap from the op shop and garage sales.
Google photos of the 50's for decorating and fancy dress ideas. Like this link.
Make the menu all finger foods to save on making it a formal sit down event. Most people have more fun mingling anyway, and you can do funky 'back in the day' finger foods like mashed potato wrapped in Devon and so on. A 50's dinner party should have lots of toothpick finger food which will make catering and clean up easy. You can try this website and similar for ideas on toothpick finger foods.
Make sure you have some 50's and 60's music on hand, you can usually pick this up fairly cheap and might be lucky to find some at the op shop or be able to borrow some from the library for free!

Contributed by: Wishful thinking

Throw a thrift shop party

For a low-cost party idea which is heaps of fun, how about a 'Thrift Shop Elegance' theme? All outfits must be bought at op shops and evening wear is preferable. Keep your guests giggling with various small prizes throughout the night such as 'Best Dressed', 'Most Tacky' and so on. It costs so little to throw such an event but the memories and photos are priceless!

Contributed by: Dee

Have a picnic in the park

A picnic in the park makes a great low-cost party - we did this for my mum's 70th birthday. A few months beforehand, go and find a nice, shady park or beach area and check out what will be the best time of day - we had a brunch and the closest family members all brought platters of food. Decorations were limited, but not needed as the bush scene was perfect and there was no major cleaning up. Mum didn't want any presents so we put this on the invitation, however, we did quietly mention that Mum could use a gardener so with the money she received we were able to get a gardener to come in once a week for a year!

Contributed by: Louise

Slow cook your way to party savings

My daughter's 18th birthday party for 80 guests cost me just $150! I borrowed a few slow cookers from friends to do the catering. We had five different meals in the cookers and I then just cooked large pots or rice and pasta to go with them. We had beef bolognaise, sweet and sour pork, Thai green chicken curry, beef and red wine casserole and a vegetarian pumpkin risotto. All were packed with lots of vegies to bulk it up and the bolognaise also had some lentils to bulk it up even further. It was a great way to feed plenty on a budget and all with wholesome home-made tucker. For dessert we had birthday cake and I made some individual shortbreads dipped in chocolate and a bowl of 'Favourites' chocolates. Everybody loved it and has since used my idea too!

Contributed by: Selsbels

Show the love on a special birthday

We recently went to a friend's 80th birthday party and were really impressed with the simple yet special touches his family put together for him:

The family hired the local hall which was air conditioned on a very hot weekend, great thinking!
They had several tables set aside on which they had grouped photos - one of his family (starting with his grandparents and including a little written history of his ancestors), one of the occupations he had held, including a brief history of his jobs accompanied by newspaper clippings, and one of his main interest which is horses so there were stacks of photos of his racehorses or work horses and again, newspaper clippings. All these were covered with clear plastic to protect the photos.
On the dining tables were laid tablecloths with little cut-out horses scattered over them. It was brilliant; I think you can get them and others like them from Spotlight or a $2 type shop. The family also placed two or three boxes containing stars and happy birthday signs (the stars were on long sticks so the display was like a floral arrangement) and the boxes were covered in sparkles.
At the front of the room there were two blackboards on which the family wrote little messages about their father/grandfather; it was lovely to read the messages. They included little gems such as how he can't swim. These along with the photos I think were the best touches.
The music was a mix of modern and older (today and up to 80 years ago) and it just felt right on the night!
The family elected to pay for a caterer who kept it simple with lovely boards of nibbles, followed by cold chicken, ham and salad and finished with plum pudding, custard and fresh fruit (The plum pudding was a favourite of the birthday boy's!).
The family offered free beer or soft drink but was BYO spirits (given it is a hall, that would have got around the licensing conditions); however, you do not have to have alcohol.

I think the love of the family really showed through on the evening and has definitely provided me with plenty of ideas for future special events!

Contributed by: Summer Breeze

Picture collage doubles up as decoration and gift

A picture collage makes a great low-cost decoration which can also be given as a gift after the event. Buy a fairly large framed cork board. Then ask your guests to bring along a photo of the party VIP and ask them to add it to your collage. It can be photos from any era; when they were at school, at work or a work party, whatever! We did this for my hubby and added photos of his fishing trips, his boat and 4WD which tows the boat to Cape York and so on. It's proudly displayed in our lounge room.

We did a similar thing for my mum's 80th birthday where my siblings and I got photos over the years including some with my late dad, and used an online photo site (in our case Big W) to make a collage, sharing the cost between us. As I live in a different town to Mum, we arranged for the collage to be collected from my mum's local branch of Big W, so when we made a surprise visit for her 80th birthday, we collected it and brought it to her for her birthday gathering. Lots of surprises and laughter that day!

Contributed by: Lexie

11. This Month's Help Request: Help With Grime Fighting!

Jacqueline has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I am what might be described as a 'well-endowed' lady. I also love my food, which undoubtedly contributes to my endowments! I am also a grot. Not a wash goes by that I don't have at least three tops that need serious de-staining somewhere down the highly visible front. I find no joy in spending hours examining dirty clothes or undertaking laundry detective work to match the right stain remover to the right stain, particularly as I'm often unsuccessful. I am heartily fed up with forking out money for new clothes unnecessarily.

Any tips out there for quick and cheap multi-purpose, all-in-together stain removal? Or culinary behaviour change, other than tucking the tablecloth under my chin? Breast reduction is too expensive!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Jacqueline, please send them in to us here.

12. Goodbye for Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for February 2014 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Kick-start your 'No Spend' by joining us in the Forum challenge and get some inspiration from our Facebook hints and tips. We know you can do it!

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

February 2016 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - February 2016

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
January: The 100 Million Dollar Challenge
New Year, New Hints!
Best of the Vault: Little Bits DO Add Up!
Best of the Forum: Every Saving Counts
Best Members' Blog: The Little Bits Are Adding Up!
Best of Facebook: We Saved $18,000 in Six Months!
Mixing It Up a Bit: Mimi and Rob
Saving Story: A Series Of (Un)fortunate Events
Goodbye For Now

Hi,

How are you going? I hope you have had a great January. Things have been very busy around here and I have been having a ball recording my savings every day on the 100 Million Dollar Challenge. Our group total so far is $168,700. How cool is that?!

If you haven't popped in and checked out the 100 Million Dollar Challenge yet, please do so. The URL is:
www.simplesavings.com.au/100mc

We would love you to join in the fun!

Many grins,
Fiona

P.S. Joining the 100 Million Dollar Challenge is free now. It will cost money to sign up later.

P.S.S. A few people have written in saying they are having trouble working out where to submit hints. I'm sorry, that is my fault. If you have a great tip, the best way to send it to us is from this hint submission page.

1. Sally and Hanna: Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

Sally sat down heavily at her desk. Her head flopped on the table. "This is IT!" she declared. "I have had enough. NO MORE SAVING FOR ME. I have been on this saving kick for years now and where has it got me? Tell me that, Hanna! Where has it got me?"

Hanna cast her mind back to the beginning. She remembered how Sally worked back every night. She remembered the food Sally used to eat. She remembered how sad Sally was. She remembered Sally's credit cards, her massive home loan, all the shopping bags, and thought about how much Sally had improved. She had come such a long way! But Hanna didn't know what to say or how to make her friend see the huge difference all her years of effort had made.

Sally had forgotten all her improvements. She had lost track of her savings. She had even lost track of her goals. Then, quite by chance, Hanna opened an email from Simple Savings reminding her about the 100 Million Dollar Challenge. The timing was uncanny! And, Hanna smiled to herself; she knew just the thing to get Sally back on the savings bandwagon...

2. January: The 100 Million Dollar Challenge

Sally has a short memory, bless her. Anyone who has kept up with her antics over the past decade knows she has achieved some wonderful things and made some fantastic changes. Sure, it hasn't all been plain sailing (nobody's perfect!) but overall she has come a long, long way. Over the years Sally's efforts have saved her a fortune. So how come she seems to have forgotten?

It is because she hasn't been recording her savings or keeping track of her progress. Imagine if Sally could see all the money her decisions had saved her; all the money she didn't have to earn to stay afloat; all the extra hours she didn't have to work.

If that was the case Sally wouldn't be hitting her head on the desk in frustration. She would be sitting tall and proud. That is what we want you to do this year; to stand tall and proud with us. To add up your savings and see how well you are doing. It is time to celebrate each cent and every action.

Our motto for this year is 'little bits add up' and our goal is to prove how quickly making tiny savings can add up to huge amounts of money with our 100 Million Dollar Challenge. What is that? It's a celebration of each and every saving you make, no matter how small. Consider this your personal invitation to take part and see just how much of a difference your efforts DO make to your finances this year.

For those of you who have previously used our Save-O-Meter, the principles are the same. Every time you make a saving, don't keep it to yourself! It takes just a few seconds to type it in and add it to our challenge tally. The great thing about doing this is, not only do you get to affirm and feel good about each saving you make (not to mention have a well-earned brag about it with the rest of us), you also get to inspire others and be inspired at the same time by sharing ideas to help us strive even further. You also get to see just how much all the little bits you save here and there really do add up. The big difference between the Save-O-Meter and the 100 Million Dollar Challenge is the goal figure at the end. We've already managed to save over 45 million dollars with the Save-O-Meter without even trying. This year we've raised the bar even further and set a total. Let's see what we can all achieve when we all REALLY put our minds to it!

You can get started entering all your savings (both regular and one-off) with the 100 Million Dollar Challenge. At the moment signing up to it is free but as we come up with more functions to make it an even better savings tool it will become a paid feature, so take advantage of it now and get logging in those savings! And, if you ever find yourself feeling like Sally, think about all the changes YOU have made, how much money you've saved. Remind yourself how far you've come and then, like in Finding Nemo, 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming'. Keep going in the right direction - and you will get there.

3. New Year, New Hints!

Now be honest, when was the last time you sent in a money saving tip to us? For many people, the New Year heralds new commitment and enthusiasm to saving money and squashing cash-draining habits. If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you! What is your favourite money saving tip you have learned or created for yourself so far this year? What was your favourite tip from last year that you never got around to sending in? What's your favourite tip EVER? Take a few moments to send them in to us and you could be a winner! Every hint which gets picked for Hint of the Week wins a free 12 month Vault membership, valued at $27. If you don't currently have one, this means you get instant access to all the whistles and bells Simple Savings land has to offer, from brilliant financial resources and all sorts of other cool stuff free members don't get to play with, to being part of the hub of the Simple Savings community, the Savings Forum. If you already have a paid membership, no problem - your winning tip will still earn you another whole year once your current membership expires, for free!

So don't delay, send us your tips today! It's super easy, all you need to do is fill out the hint submission form here and our friendly staff will await your tips with eager anticipation. The Vault is growing constantly with new and exciting ways to save money, why not add yours too?

4. Best of the Vault: Little Bits DO Add Up!

If you need any proof of just how much all those little savings here and there add up, look no further than the Vault. Be warned, however, once you dive in and start reading all those motivational tips, you may find yourself glued to your screen for hours! Here are just a few to give you an idea.

10% less on everything means more

Save money by using the 10% principle! Instead of trying to change your lifestyle, just try cutting down on everything (and I mean everything) by 10%. Reduce your travel by 10%, reduce electricity, water usage, even takeaway by 10%. In turn, stretch groceries by 10% and get that extra 10% wear out of things. By using the 10% principle on a $25,000 take home pay, you end up with an extra $2500 in your pocket!

Contributed by: Sandra Glusa

Always room for improvement

I have been a Simple Savings member for years and by using the tips and hints from the Vault in our everyday life, we have knocked $80,000 off our $180,000 mortgage in just a few years!

My husband is a police officer and I'm a teacher so we earn an average combined wage. We bought a house within our means and have paid triple repayments since day one. We have also enjoyed overseas holidays every year for the past five years (including six months around Europe and a five-star trip to Egypt)! I always think, 'Yeah, we're doing okay!' but on a recent visit to see my wasteful parents(!) I noticed they were going to the supermarket every day for bits and pieces. I came home and looked over my bank statement and was disgusted to see that for the month of August, we went to the supermarket 23 times! And spent $1225.90! That's $306.48 per week, for two adults and an eight-month-old, which is beyond ridiculous!

Here I was being all smug and thinking we were nailing it! My advice for everyone is to be honest with yourself, review what you are doing periodically and use the tools available on this website. Menu planning, stock-taking and shopping once a week with a list are good places to start. Even though we employ lots and lots of SS principles, are way ahead on the mortgage and about to head to the USA for the next big holiday, there is always room for improvement!

Contributed by: Peaches come in a can

Cheap is good, cheaper or free is better!

I have saved hundreds of dollars by using my 'Cheap, Cheaper and Free' spreadsheet! Basically I set up a simple spreadsheet with four columns. The columns are headed Regular, Cheap, Cheaper and Free. Every time I buy something in my budget, I try to come up with the cheapest possible option, for example, when watching a DVD:

Regular would be buying a DVD.
Cheap would be renting instead.
Cheaper would be using a discount voucher to rent a DVD.
Free would be borrowing a DVD from a friend or the library.

On my spreadsheet I highlight the option I'm currently doing and challenge myself to eventually have only highlighted options in the 'Cheaper' and 'Free' columns. It's fun and challenging to try to come up with cheaper and free ways to do everything. Sometimes there may not be a free way, but there is ALWAYS a cheaper way!

Contributed by: Tracey Blume

Fill a treasure chest with gold!

One year a friend gave me a money tin and on the side of it was printed, 'If you fill this tin with only gold coins, by the time it's full you will have at least $500'. It really didn't look big enough to hold that amount of money, but I love a challenge so I decided to find out if it could!

We started in March and any gold coins we had went into the tin. Our goal was to open the tin at Christmas and use it to pay off lay-bys plus have some spending money over the Christmas break.

Contributed by: Nicole

Happiness and honesty saves on splurges

The easiest way I have found for me to save is to be honest with myself. After becoming aware that I was saying 'this will be my ONE indulgence while I save' at least once a day (with savings going nowhere - strange that!), I had to face the facts. I am not happy with what I am doing work-wise at the moment, therefore I vent my frustration by spending money on trifles. This simply keeps me in limbo, just numbing the 'pain' enough to go on and on. I now have a choice - either I change my job, or my attitude. Either way, all these 'deserved indulgences' will no longer be necessary. Estimated savings - between $3.50 per day for my coffee, with shoes and designer hair shampoo thrown in, I come up with a way to instantly save an easy $300-400 a month!

Contributed by: Maienkind

Money tin savings work online too

I have discovered that regularly checking the balance of my everyday bank account and putting just a few cents away into savings each time adds up to some big savings. How it works is this - I check the balance of my everyday account online and then transfer every amount under a dollar showing on that balance, to my savings account. For example, if my everyday balance showed $300.45, I would transfer that $0.45c to my savings account.

If I transfer $0.05c every day, then I save $18.25 per year. But if I have as much as $0.99c to transfer each time, I save $361.35! The more often I log on, the more I save. It works on the same principle as the Money Tin Challenge - except that I had let this spare change slip down the back of the virtual couch for too many years - not anymore!

Contributed by: Anita H

Sacrifice your vices and save $10,000

Our family are all set to save $10,000 this year! My husband, three children and I have decided to give up the foods that we like the most for the sake of our health and our bank balance. Hubby Steve is giving up iced coffee, which he was drinking as much as four litres of a day, at a cost of $15 a day! The children are giving up tuck shop snacks, which will save us a further $60 a week and I will give up cake, chocolate and lollies, saving yet another $50 a week. Making these changes should save about $850 per month. If we can keep this up all year we will save $10,200 and be healthier too - a small sacrifice for a terrific result!

Contributed by: Jenny Hodge

$3 a fortnight makes mortgage $1800 cheaper!

I have discovered how just $3.00 a fortnight can make a big difference to your mortgage! Check out the www.moneysmart.gov.au mortgage calculator. Here you can see how increasing your mortgage payment by even $1.00 a fortnight will change the total interest paid over the life of the loan. From the Tools & Resources tab, select 'calculators & apps', then 'Mortgage calculators'. Use the 'How can I repay my loan sooner' option to select this calculator. Next, enter your current mortgage balance, interest rate, repayments and frequency. You'll see the capital in one colour, then the interest and fees in another. Click 'Compare alternative', then enter your repayment plus $1.00 more. Now you'll have two bar graphs to look at. By rolling your mouse over the fees and interest section you will see the total sum. Subtract the higher repayment sum from the original to calculate your saving in interest over the loan term.

In this way I have worked out that for our mortgage, just $1.00 extra paid every fortnight equates to approximately $600 in interest saved over 24 years. In addition, as ours is a variable rate loan, every extra $ paid now reduces the future impact of rising interest rates. The less capital we owe when rates go up, the smaller the increase in repayments. This may seem a small, slow saving but it is money you can use on something else, such as enjoying your retirement!

Contributed by: GoGo Goanna

5. Best of the Forum: Every Saving Counts

New year, new beginnings and new goals. Our Forum members are busy as ever setting their targets for the year and sharing how they're going to reach them!

2016 vision boards

If you are the kind of person who gets motivated to stay on track even further by having a visual reminder of your goal, Clutterhen has some strategies for you. Choose a way which suits you best and watch all those little bits add up.
read more...

We've got no money, so we must think

When you have no money to spare, every little saving counts! GoGo Goanna (with a little help from nuclear physicist Ernest Rutherford) shows how a lot of valuable little savings can be made when you put your thinking cap on!
read more...

Year one of our five year plan

Newlywed Martha has some big goals - and she's super focussed on getting there! Follow her journey as she goes about reaching her first target of saving $40,000 by October and be inspired along the way.
read more...

6. Best Members' Blog: The Little Things Are Adding Up!

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is MoneyMine for her blog about how all the countless small savings we make really can make a difference. Check out the result!

The Little Things Are Adding Up!

"Only days into my new financial mission and I feel as though I'm doing really well!

YNAB is beyond belief brilliant, I'm on a free trial for now, but will definitely be subscribing. I've cancelled my Cozi app subscription, which will cover half the yearly cost. I've tried other budgeting systems and apps, but YNAB is the first system that has REALLY made sense as far as handling my money is concerned.

To save money so far this week I have:

done a food stocktake
menu planned based primarily on what I had at home
shopped with a list
said no to takeaway, and made alternatives at home for a fraction of the price
taken our own drinks and snacks with us whenever we went out
tracked every cent I've spent in YNAB
made egg sandwiches for us all to have for lunch today, in order to use up a dozen eggs that were nearing expiry
made some snacks for the kids using ingredients I already had in the house
avoided all impulse buys...and stopped browsing the shops for entertainment!

The result? For the first time, in a very, very long time, I'm going to finish the week with some money still in the bank. Not much mind you, as I'm on a very low income, but enough to cover my mobile bill and health insurance (extras only) that's due out on the 1st. I won't have to touch a line of credit to make ends meet. That in itself is huge!

I do have some big bills coming up over the next two weeks with the kids returning to school and ballet lessons, but I now feel confident I'll be able to get those taken care of, and start building my emergency fund."

Great stuff MoneyMine, keep up the good work! You can read more of our members' blogs here.

7. Best of Facebook: We Saved $18,000 in Six Months!

What's the only thing better than joining the Simple Savings website? Joining the Simple Savings website AND our community Facebook group! Double the motivation, double the inspiration and double the enjoyment! We love to hear of your savings triumphs and it made our day to read this post from Kymelise:

"About six months ago I rang up my banks and found out I was $52,000 in debt! I'm 22 years old and felt horrible about it so decided to make a change! Yesterday I rang them again to see how I'm going and I'm now $34,000 in debt! Surprising what I can do when I only buy what I need rather than what I want! This page has helped me a lot. Thanks!"

Before you ask, Kymelise doesn't own a single credit card! Like many people she and hubby just got sucked into the high interest trap on their work vehicles. Changing a few simple habits has already made a massive difference and the young couple aim to be debt-free in two years. Awesome effort!

Joining our busy Facebook community is super easy. Either search up 'Simple Savers' on Facebook or click this link and request to join. Once you're in, let the fun begin!

8. Mixing It Up a Bit: Mimi and Rob

You may have noticed the format of our newsletter has changed this year. We have made it shorter and we are planning to vary its size and contents every month. Unfortunately, this means we have lost our regular bloggers, Mimi and Rob.

If you would like to find Mimi, she has a fantastic blog where she is running frugal gift making workshops and will soon be publishing her own superbly stunning and always classy book. If you would like more of Mimi go to:

atrayofbliss.blogspot.com.au

If you would like more of Rob, his YouTube channel is going great guns and his Facebook Group "Share the Seed" is a great place to hang out. Here are links to both:

www.youtube.com/user/bnbob01

www.facebook.com/groups/305118499498211/

Both Mimi and Rob will be making appearances in this newsletter from time to time, but not every month.

9. Savings Story: A Series of (Un)fortunate Events

"I had been living beyond my means for some time and knew I needed to trim my spending. For the last couple of years I had been pretty careful with purchases, but was not succeeding in 'cutting my coat according to my cloth'. About eight or nine months ago I decided I would only spend cold hard cash. I withdrew what I could afford to once a week from the bank and forced myself to make do with that until the following week. What a shock! The first couple of weeks I was penniless within 24 hours and had long lists of unpurchased 'necessities'. My grocery shopping barely covered the bottom of the trolley. (What a joy when it came to unpacking it!) I discovered I could do without many things and started making all food (including bread) from scratch. Most things tasted better and I enjoyed cooking. I started buying vegetable seedlings and growing them, but have had to trim that back to seeds to supply us with enough. The junk food and alcohol are long gone - the money never makes it that far. I lost weight! But I still wasn't making ends meet, so I had to cut back on contents insurance. The result has been that I am more careful with what I do have and am becoming less concerned about material possessions as I am not acquiring expensive new ones anyway. I had more free time on the weekends as I didn't 'have' to scour the newspaper for the best buys and then rush around putting them on the credit card. However, I still needed to trim my expenses, so I had to forgo my medical insurance. I find I am now so much more careful with my lifestyle, diet and exercise and I suspect it is because my subconscious knows that there is no comfortable private hospital or top specialist waiting for me if anything goes wrong.

Petrol is still a thorn in my side and I am very conscious of the percentage of my hard-earned money that is going on harming the environment just to get me to work. Tomorrow I have an interview for a less 'glamorous', but otherwise similar job within walking distance of my home. This would also increase my exercise. So far, the follow-on effects of spending only cash I have in my hand have not ended. But each time I have had to make a tough decision about which 'necessity' to forgo to live within my means, I have discovered that going without is not as bad as I feared and that, oddly enough, I am now healthier, happier, less rushed, more in control of my life and proud of my resourcefulness than I ever was when I had everything I thought I needed.

Contributed by: Anne Stephenson Piper

10. Goodbye For Now

Well, that's the first Simple Savings Newsletter for 2016 done and dusted! We hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to check the Forum and Facebook for challenges and tips to inspire you to keep making all those little savings every day. Be sure to record them in the 100 Million Dollar Challenge too! Let's see how much we can all save together.

Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say, 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

Keep spreading the love around to your family and friends too by forwarding them our newsletter or letting them know about our website. Help make their lives easier and save them money too! Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page.

Until next time...
All the best,
Fiona

PS: Want to make 2016 your best money saving year ever? Get a Vault membership! All the money saving tips you could possibly ever need available with the click of a mouse and each one is carefully categorised to make it easy to find what you want, when you want it. A Simple Savings Vault membership also makes the perfect thoughtful gift. With a 365 day 'no questions asked' money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose, only big savings to gain. To find out more about joining the Vault and to purchase a 12 month membership, click here.

February 2019 - Simple Savings Newsletter

>> Get Growing in February! <<

Simple Savings Newsletter - February 2019

Growing Online
How to Make Soap at Home
Recipe: Lazy 'Everything at Once' Soap
Save-O-Meter: Watching Your Savings Grow
New Competition: Criticise and Win $50
Competition Winners: Inspiring Others
New: Tools and Downloads Area
Learning With the Lippeys

Hi,

I hope you have been having a fantastic February; learning new things and growing your brain. We have taken "Grow Your Brain" month seriously in the Lippey household and February has been filled with lessons from library books, online videos and articles and offline workshops. We have learned how to make soap, improve the Save-O-Meter, edit video, and we've discovered lots of ways Simple Savings members have been improving themselves.

Keep up the great work! Remember to stay in touch and tell us what you've been up to.

Many grins,

Fiona

1. Growing Online

My kids will tell you the best part of the internet is the games. For me it is learning new things.

I love how easy it is to learn online.

Two months ago I had no idea how to make soap. None!! Soap was this magical thing that appeared in the shops. The trouble is my kids have super sensitive, 'peel off in large chunks' skin and we live in the bacteria-laden sub-tropics. This means we need hypoallergenic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial soap, which is really expensive.

So I hopped on to Google, checked out a few recipes and watched some YouTube videos to learn the basics of soap making. From there I created my own soap recipe from cosmetic grade macadamia oil, olive oil, neem oil and caustic soda.

The results were brilliant. It is the best soap I have ever used. It cleans, moisturises, disinfects and kills fungus.

With the help of YouTube, online blogs and my local library I have learned how to make a 1.4kg batch of incredible soap in an hour, which is fantastic. The best part, though, is what I found after doing some more research. I discovered soap similar to mine sells for $89.95 per kilo. This means the retail value of my hand made soap is about $125. Yet I had only spent $21 on ingredients. This means I had saved myself $104 making soap. How brilliant is that?

2. How to Make Soap at Home

If you would like to learn how to make soap watch this series of videos from Liz from Night Owl Crafts. In it she will show you everything you need to know to make hot or cold process soap.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oN7KuRcmqY

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRX3BB-4ER0

In Liz's video she talks about Hot Process and Cold Process soaps. Here are the advantages and disadvantages I found with each method.

Cold Process

Easier to make. You only need to raise the temperature to 40 degrees, stir it together and pour into the mould
Good for beginners
It is easier to pour into moulds because it is runny
Soap must sit for 6-8 weeks before you can use it to allow the caustic soda and oil to turn to soap
The effectiveness of essential oils is reduced as they interact with the caustic soda

Hot Process

Takes about an hour to make
It can be used the same day
Essential oils are more effective because they are added after the caustic soda and oils have reacted with each other
It is hard to stir because it sets
It is hard to put in the mould

Let's move onto the soap recipe...

3. Recipe: Lazy 'Everything at Once' Soap

It is time for a confession: When it comes to beauty, I'm really lazy. I don't want to have to cleanse, rinse, scrub, rinse, moisturise and then oil my skin. I wanted a product that does all those things in one go. I also want it to kill all the germs, treat dandruff, tinea, thrush and BO at the same.

This soap recipe does all those things, which is why I call it my Lazy 'Everything at Once' soap.

Equipment

Protective gloves
Eye protection
Slow cooker
Stick blender
Stainless steel mixing spoon
Candy thermometer
Scales
Glass jug

WARNING!! The caustic soda is dangerous. Do not get it on your skin. Wear eye protection and gloves. Work in a well ventilated area.

Ingredients

120g Caustic Soda (Lye) from Bunnings
750g Cosmetic grade macadamia oil
260ml Distilled water
200g olive oil
50 drops neem oil

Put on your gloves, eye protection and a long sleeve shirt.

Then take the caustic soda and water to a well ventilated, pet and child free area.

The order you do this is important: Do not pour water into the caustic soda! Mix the caustic soda and water in a glass jug by slowly adding the caustic soda to the water while you stir. It will froth and heat itself up.

Let it cool down while you prepare other things.

Put all oil in a slow cooker and heat it to 40 degrees.

Pour the caustic soda into the oil. Mix with a stick blender.

Put the slow cooker on low and stir with a wooden spoon every ten minutes.

When the soap has thickened how long?, stir in the neem oil.

Place soap in moulds and leave overnight.

Empty soap from moulds.

Cut up soap.

Store it in a sealed container.

4. Save-O-Meter: Watching Your Savings Grow

When you have been frugal for a long time it is easy to take your savings for granted. It is easy to forget that when you are saving money you are doing something AMAZING!! That is why I love the Save-O-Meter.

The Save-O-Meter reminds me that my decisions - learn how to make soap; make school lunches instead of buying them; learn how to film and edit our own videos; mend and keep instead of throwing and buying; learn how to cut our own hair; shop at the factory outlet instead of the supermarket; and cook instead of take away - all make a difference. It reminds me these little savings are valuable and I am valuable.

It does this by adding up every cent saved. Here are my savings I have recorded in the last month.

How cool are they?

Looking at my savings from the last month makes me feel fantastic. I hope this time next month you will be able to look at your Save-O-Meter results and say "Wow! The things I do make a difference!"

5. New Competition: Criticise and Win $50

This month we want you to criticise us. Really, I mean it. I want the Save-O-Meter to be brilliant! I want it to inspire, motivate and teach people how to save money. Not just frugal people, but spendthrifts as well and people who would like to lower their bills but don't know where to begin.

I want all this, but I designed the Save-O-Meter and I have stared at it for too long. I need fresh eyes to see the things we have missed. That is why this month we are giving away 4 prizes of $50 to people who send in the best criticism.

When I say criticism we are open to all types of criticism, such as:-

I think it is crap because...
I would never use it because...
It really needs to be...
You can improve it by...

Send your criticism to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by March 20th to be in the competition.

6. Competition Winners: Inspiring Others

This month we were blown away by members' fantastic stories. From Veronica who turned her life around after reading The $21 Challenge, to Alison who has been learning new languages, Melanie who has learned how to re-organised her whole home, Leah who started with a second hand book found while out walking and Jane who is completing entire courses online.

(This month we increased the number of prizes to five because these are all brilliant.)

$21 Challenge Led to Great Changes

I have learnt so much from Simple Savings book which I bought many years ago and continue to pick up and re-read at times.

Over the years we have made big savings on our gas, power, Sky TV, mobile phone, home phone and internet accounts, grocery purchases and rubbish collections to name a few.

In 2012 we were putting out a rubbish bag on a weekly basis, now we're lucky to put one out every four to five weeks and I am sure we could get that down to once every 6 weeks if we tried harder. We do recycling which has helped a lot plus I shred any papers for use in my compost bins of which I have 10.

We cancelled our subscriptions to newspapers - 2 a day, and have saved over $1000.00 per year. I stopped buying magazines on a regular basis. I used to get Lucky Break and That's Life delivered weekly to do the competitions and those two alone made a savings of $6.60 per week. Yearly that is a saving of $343.20. As well I also regularly bought some other magazines - NZ Gardener, Woman's Weekly, Australian Woman's Weekly to name a few. That also ceased from 2012. I then occasionally bought magazines, usually 3 for $15.00, to read when I was flying to Australia or back but I don't even do that now.

We have made a big dent in our grocery bill over the last 7 years going from spending $10,000 per year to $6,000 per year. I started a spreadsheet in which I write down everything we buy. It includes EVERYTHING for the house, not just edible stuff!! The year I started was the "wake up call". We changed our purchasing and made a special effort NOT to buy what I could make at home as in jams, relishes, sauces, dressings, pesto, biscuits, yoghurt, and occasionally bread. We have a vegetable garden so the produce was at my fingertips!! As well we made a conscious effort to eat out of the fridge, freezer and pantry and it was amazing how long we could survive without a trip to the supermarket. We now do this on a regular basis.

We have also made big savings with our power account going from $1,589 per year in 2012 to $433.20 after discounts and savings in 2018. We just became aware of what was using power and stopped using them - dryer, dishwasher, heated towel rails, and wall heaters. I also do a spreadsheet for the power we use on a daily basis and I am able to accurately work out our bill each month.

Sky TV has been clawed back by $700 by cancelling our sky box when we head away for five months and cancelling programmes we weren't using.

After retiring we had a major revamp of our landline phone, internet and mobile phones packages. The landline phone and internet package has been cancelled saving $89 per month. Now we pay $39 for our wifi per month and can stop it when we head overseas. The cost has gone from $1,736 in 2012 to $463 in 2018 and this year will be less again. I would expect 2019 to cost us $273

Our mobile phones went from being on account to using prepay and we wonder why we took so long to make the change as the savings are huge. We're not big mobile phone users so don't need lots of data, etc. We've clawed that back from $1,000 per year in 2012 to $400 in 2018. Again this year will be less as we change our plan regularly.

My vegetable garden for the last 2 years has cost nothing as I have saved up and converted Westpac Hotpoints, Flybuys points and Perceptive points into Mitre 10 and / or Warehouse vouchers to buy my gardening requirements.

Every little bit helps and we are continuing to try and make changes on a daily, monthly and yearly basis.

Veronica

Learning A New Language

I have always enjoyed learning languages and one of my goals I set in my twenties was to learn more languages but I never got seriously stuck into this goal. I would dabble now and then but did not keep it up. Then in 2015 I started learning Spanish on a whim when it was offered by someone locally. At this time I realised that the internet has allowed language learning lovers to come together, to blog, to share information and provides free or cheap learning opportunities and dictionaries! Now it's easier than ever to learn a language!

Since 2015 I have continued a habit of regular study of the languages I am learning (Maori, New Zealand Sign Language, Spanish and Hindi). Learning languages opens your mind and world. It enables you to have new experiences and meet people you would otherwise not have met and allows you to become more patient and understanding of other people learning your own native language!

If learning a new language is on your mind, I highly recommend reading the blog 'Fluent in 3 months' and considering applying for 'The #add1challenge' which is a three month language learning challenge that keeps you accountable. There is a cost to this but a little cost can keep one motivated to complete the challenge! Italki is a free to join site where you can find exchange partners and tutors for many many languages. Youtube is awesome to get you started on pretty much any language you want. If a rare language native to your country is what you are hoping to learn, you might have to visit a local cultural centre or talk to the local people who speak that language to find out how to learn. I can guarantee that it is well worth the effort.

If you are an SS member, maybe you can start a forum thread to find other SS members growing themselves through language learning to hold each other accountable.

Enjoy your language learning journey!

*please note that I get no rewards and have no affiliations with the links I have provided.

Alison

Learning To Declutter

What and Why

Like most people, I and my family of four have too many possessions and we had reached the point where it was difficult to keep the house tidy due to the amount of clutter. Piles of random items - school bags, wet towels, water bottles, sunhats - would randomly sprout in (in)convenient places and it was rare to have a clear view of the skirting board in any room. Windowsills and any available horizontal spaces were littered with papers, empty snack packets, socks, you name it! Tired of this situation and faced with the opportunity of several child and husband free days, I planned a massive decluttering session.

How I Prepared

I started off by watching several Marie Kondo YouTube tutorials. Marie Kondo, or KonMarie, is a Japanese organization specialist who suggests that people use the question, 'Does this item spark joy?' when considering what to keep in your home. She has written several international bestsellers on organizing and decluttering homes, which will be available at your local library and which I had read previously. She advocates a specific way of folding clothing both to get full use out of your storage space and to easily see what you have available.

KonMarie suggests decluttering by 'type', ie if you want to streamline the amount of books you own, gather ALL your books, from all areas of the house where they may be found. This way, you can see what you are dealing with and gauge the size of the problem!

I also read a new book, 'Declutter Your Life: How Outer Order Leads to Inner Calm' by Gill Hasson, which discusses the physical and psychological barriers that can hold people back from streamlining their possessions. I didn't feel that any of this information applied to me; like most people, I am mainly time-poor, rather than holding on to items for sentimental reasons, but I am sure the information in this book will apply to some people.

In the days leading up to my free time, I made sure I had several cardboard boxes and a plan for the unwanted items. In my case, a friend wanted me to give her first dibs on any unwanted possessions and she would then pass on unwanted items to others or take to an op shop. This was ideal for me as she lives very close by and, each day, I was able to take items to her house to avoid 'stealth reclaiming' by my family, which is to be avoided at all costs!

Results

After a week of decluttering in bursts of up to a couple of hours at a time, I am seeing some serious results and enjoying the oasis of calm created by removing unwanted clutter. I have spent approximately 20 hours decluttering and I have:

Filled a large recycling bin twice over (paper, card and plastic mainly)
Filled 2 rubbish bags with non-recyclable rubbish (hair encrusted 'slime' anyone?)
Passed on to the friend 5 large bags and 4 large boxes of unwanted items, from clothes to games, DVDs, music, kitchen items, etc. She and her children have been delighted to receive new or hardly-worn items of clothing, lunch boxes, kitchen utensils, etc, that they can put to good use.

Tips for Decluttering

Make a list of the priority areas that are bothering you that you want to declutter. Start with these, ideally at a time when you can avoid distractions. Take before and after photos! You will reach a point, mid-decluttering session, when you are knee-deep in one hell of a mess. It's important that you only take on what you have the time and energy to finish in one session. Depending on what you have in your house, you may wish to assign boxes and bags as:

Rubbish (bin at the end of each session)
Recycle (put in recycling bins/stations at the end of each session)
Return (to whoever it belongs to, or relocate to another part of the house at the end of each session, where possible. Put items that need to be returned to other people/organisations by your front door or in your car to remind you to do it)
Sell (store these items away from prying eyes and make a time in your diary to list items for sale)
Give away/op shop (action asap)
Clean/fix/mend/replace batteries (attempt to resolve these items before you start your next decluttering session)

At the end of each decluttering session, cross the area off your list, give yourself a big pat on the back, make a cup of tea and be sure to skite (brag) to your friends! They will be impressed and encourage you to continue.

Ideally, in a family situation, you would include other family members and I did for items that belonged to them or their own spaces. For general household and kitchen purposes though, as the chief cook and bottle-washer (not the mention the person who mainly keeps things tidy), I just made executive decisions. I doubt that anyone will actually miss what I've decluttered as, by its nature, most possessions were stuffed in cupboards or drawers so hardly top of mind.

For a quick declutter, when you only have 5-10 minutes, clear and wipe down windowsills, counters or tabletops, for an instant calming result.

Going Forward

From this point, I am going to be very vigilant about what comes into the house, to avoid a slow return to our previous situation. I have also set up periodic diary reminders to declutter certain items, eg kids shoes and clothes, DVDs and games and books every school term or so.

Decluttering, especially with kids in the house, is an ongoing exercise and, luckily, something I'm usually itching to do along with spring cleaning so there will be a natural continuation of what I've started from this point.

I keep forgetting to take 'before' and 'after' photos but have attached some from when I remembered!

Happy Decluttering!

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Op Shop Inspiration

Last year I was out for my daily walk (aka free, easy, quick exercise), and I suddenly had a thought "what I really need is somebody to tell me how to live my life, like a general set of instructions/coaching for my entire life, that doesn't cost me hundreds of dollars per session."

I walked past a local op shop that had a free book bin outside. I had a quick glance and found three self-help books. Two of these, The Winners Bible and If It's Going To Be It's Up To Me, are books filled with an incredible amount of information which can be applied to anyone and any area of your life. I couldn't believe it. I walked home filled with excitement and planned to read a paragraph or two of one of these books every day. It's a whole year later and I am nearly at the end of If It's Going To Be It's Up To Me. I have grown and changed in so many ways, and I managed to fit in a big overseas trip which I previously thought I'd never be able to do because I wouldn't be able to afford it.

I would encourage anyone on a budget to look around at op shops for books that will help you change your life. Aside from the books mentioned previously, I have also found books about finances, running a business, relationships, and more.

Leah

Massive Online Open Courses

I have found one of the best ways to keep on learning and growing is by taking MOOCs (massive open online courses). With MOOCs you can travel around the world and visit some of the best universities without having to leave your home, or spend a single cent!

I've taken courses on happiness, brain health, learning to learn, nutrition and mindfulness. These courses have completely changed the way I think and live.

I recently completed an online course on brain health and an online culinary course, both of which were life changing. The online culinary course cost me US$10 per month (the first week was free). In 3 months, I learnt how to chop, cook pasta to perfection and cook confidently with a range of plants and whole-foods. This really was the best defence against buying expensive take-away. Eating out at restaurants has gone right down and my nutrient intake has gone way up!

Compared to going to university, MOOCs are incredibly cheap (and usually free).

You will find MOOCs on lots of different platforms (e.g. Coursera, Udacity and edX). But a word of warning: it's easy to get lost on these sites and it's hard to know what's good and what's not so good.

This is why I recommend jumping on a site called class-central.com. This gives you reviews on each MOOC and compares the different MOOCs.

You've also got Degreed. This site is pretty amazing. You type in the topic you want to learn about and Degreed will serve up some great articles, books, videos, courses and people based on your interests and learning habits.

So if you want to learn about a new topic, I encourage you to enter the world of MOOCs. Don't be scared. There is no passing or failing. All you need is a computer and an internet connection!

Here is what I have found helps me to study MOOCs:

Setting aside a couple of hours every week to work through the content
Being organised: Keeping my notes in a file and regularly reviewing my notes
Making sure I apply what I learn (otherwise what's the point?!)
Connecting with others who are taking the MOOCs
Clearing away distractions and closing distracting sites (e.g. Facebook and email) when I am studying

Jane G.

7. New: Tools and Downloads Area

This month we redesigned the Tools and Downloads area. I hope you like it. If not, please write and tell us how you think we could improve it.

8. Learning With the Lippeys

We have been very busy growing this month. To help Jacqui with her 3D pen videos we went to a full day workshop at the Noosa Film Academy. The workshop was run by Academy Award Winning cinematographer Greg Huglin and it was incredible!

It is really unusual for someone as skilled as Greg to run well priced^*, beginner workshops. Which made me wonder, 'What is the catch?' The catch is, when Greg moved to Australia, the Immigration Department made it a condition that Greg teaches others how to become Academy Award Winning Cinematographers. It is called a Distinguished Skills Visa and I would like to thank the Immigration Department for giving us the chance to learn from a master.

Jacqui was so inspired after the workshop she started working on her next video. Here it is..

If you would like to see how much Jacqui learned from a one day workshop with Greg, here is Jacqui's 'Before Workshop' video. We still have a lot to learn, but it is great to see the improvement from a one day workshop.

^*Greg's wife, Andrea, arranges the workshops and she does discount for groups of 10 or more.

That's all for now!

"Get Moving" month begins tomorrow. What ways (or new ways) are you going to get moving in March? Let us know what you have planned.

All the best,

Fiona

February 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter

February 2021 Simple Savings Newsletter

Welcome,

How are you doing? We hope you have a Fabulously Frugal February. At our place the bills are coming in thick and fast. Luckily, this month is BUDGET TIME. Starting with a short tale about how a medical disaster made me a better budgeter, then we will look at ways to budget with advice, tips and my favourite budgeting thread in the forum. Followed by updates from last month's "Use it Up" challenge.

Enough from me. I hope you have a great month and 'Let's get budgeting!'.

All the best,

Sandra

PS. *Fiona looks embarrassed*

There were errors in 2 pages of your calendar. To download the new pages. Click here.

Here's how I got really good at budgeting by Sandra

In 1997 my Mr was out in the garden pruning some Date Palms. A few days later there was a thorn in his knee. When he went to the Doctor to get it removed we found it out it wasn't a thorn, it was a piece of bone. His kneecap had splintered. The Dr told him he had to quit his job and STOP WORKING IMMEDIATELY.

We went from 2 incomes down to just my casual income. I was scared and had to find a way to make sure I was earning enough money to cover our bills.

I did it by making a 365 day budget. I worked out our bills for the year and divided them by 365 days. This told me how much money I needed to earn every day to be safe.

After I'd worked each day, I added up my hours, worked out my tax and calculated my pay. I put aside the bill money, then worked out what was left over.

The leftover money was divided into grocery money, petrol money and savings (which were put away for the days I never worked and earnt.) This way we made it through and all our bills were paid on time.

Here is how you can get really good at budgeting

Everyone knows they should have a budget. But, many say it is too difficult and they don't have spare time to create or stick to a budget. While creating a budget does take time, we found the biggest barrier to creating a budget is people simply don't want to do it. They don't want to have to think about their money, they don't want to see their finances in black and white, they want it to all take care of itself. Which is a fair thought. But, this is a recipe for disaster.

Another way of saying the same thing is "not having a budget" is setting yourself up for financial failure. We want to set people up for financial success. So here are three simple steps for creating a budget. The first is desire, the second is skill and the third is enjoying the rewards.

Desire

To be a good budgeter, you have to want to be a good budgeter. To help you want to budget ask yourself the question, "What is it you want that a good budget will give you?". Here are some possible answers.

To know how much I can spend each day

To know how much I need to earn each day

To know where I will be ten years from now

To have a holiday

To build a nest egg

To have a financial safety blanket

To always have money for a fridge when I need it

To help me make good decisions

To get out of debt

To know you are going forward

To work out how much you need to earn.

Skill

While there are a lot of sites that teach budgeting on YouTube, Facebook and around the net. Here are two of our favourites.

moneysmart.gov.au/budgeting/how-to-do-a-budget

moneyhub.co.nz/budget-planner.html

Rewards

While starting a budget can be hard and some days sticking to it can be tricky, the rewards are fantastic! It is the best way to set yourself up for a life of prosperity.

Sandra's Budgeting tips

Starting your budget-

You can find a lot of the information you will need on your bank statements or credit card statements to start off your budget. You also need to know your income after tax. And don't forget to include any other money you get too.

Some tips of mine are to separate your expenditure -

Your 'fixed expenditure' categories are things that you can't change too much.

Rent and/or your mortgage aren't always quite that negotiable. You can always TRY to negotiate a better interest rate on your mortgage though, as it may assist in growing you some more savings.

Some more fixed expenditure items are things like Council Rates, Body Corporate Fees, Car Registration and Roadside Assist all which simply must be paid in full.

Do make sure though, that if you are entitled to financial assistance for those things, that you do apply for it, or make sure you get any discounts that are available to you.

Then there are 'negotiable items'. Things where there is room for negotiation with your providers, if you care to make a phone call. You will get used to making those calls and most large companies have people who will talk to you and who can help you to get a better deal.

Don't get caught paying Lazy Tax. Lazy Tax is paying more money than you had to because you didn't call to ask for a discount or you receive a fee for neglecting to pay a bill on time. Things you should always ring and ask for discounts on are car, house and contents insurance, Foxtel and so on. Do look around for the best phone providers and best internet deals too.

Electricity and gas providers often offer a bit of wriggle room. I have a 21% discount on both my Usage and Supply charges, with my electricity company and it truly makes a difference to lower our quarterly power bills. As does the solar power and solar hot water that we have, at our place.

Always add a category for 'Discretionary Spending' or 'Sanity Money'. This covers most of the things we buy or choose to pay for, to enhance our lives. It's an amount of money, your choice, to spend as you wish no questions asked. Can be a tiny amount to whatever your budget allows. Often when people are saving up for something special or paying debt down, it can save your sanity.

The personal spending choices can include health, schooling, gym memberships, sports, craft, pets and other more personal, special interest choices. The things which make us happier people for doing them. The things which make us who we are!

Food and groceries are a big expenditure for most people too. Hopefully we can encourage and inspire you to reduce that, through discussion and resources via the Simple Savings forum and in the Simple Savers facebook group. There are many hints, tips and discussions about ideas on how our members do that.

Of course with any good budget you need to know what your debts are, so you can pay them off or you can try to debt bust them and get rid of those altogether.

Here is a great explanation about debt reduction from super saver Katie from over on the forum -

"You need to list your debts with their interest rates. There are 2 methods to pay off your debt.

The first is the snowball method where you list the debt from the smallest to the highest. You pay the minimum on all debt and any extra funds go to the smallest debt until you pay it off. Then you work on attacking the next smallest debt. Psychologically this one works because you see progress quickly.

The second method is the avalanche method. This is where you list your debts in order of interest rates and attack the highest interest rate debt first. You use the same method as the snowball method where you pay the minimums on all debt, but with the avalanche method all extra funds are thrown at the debt with the highest interest rate until it is gone. The avalanche method saves you money in the long run as you are paying the highest interest rates first, but it will appear to be slower because you aren't knocking out those small debts quickly."

Eliminating debt will give you some surplus funds. Surplus funds give you more freedom. They are the funds which really give you a sense of financial peace.

Surplus funds are my absolute favourite category. It is the reason that we squish down all of our other costs to make our budget as low as we can. You can read about my budget here on the Going Lower thread, in the Simple Savings Forum if you are a member. They are in the thread link below, in the second and third posts -

/fora/4359113

Forum: Living on $20,000 and under!

If you would like to get your expense down, check out the thread "Living on $20,000 and under." It is full of inspiring people, great tips and delicious recipes. It is worth reading.

We are totally aware that not everyone can live on so little, but it is very encouraging that people can and do.

Here is a link to the thread: (You will have to be logged into the Vault to read it.)

/fora/2643487

From Last Month: Use it Up

You can also read about how the 2021 January USE IT UP Calendar Challenge went over here in the forum

/fora/4350795

The challenge was to use up what members had in their pantry, fridge and freezers so no food was wasted and nor would it get past it's best and end up in the bin. We used this challenge to also 'check' the goods that were stockpiled. Some stockpiled goods have likely been held for 12 months or so by now pre COVID, so they do deserve to be rotated and checked.

Most Popular in Facebook Group

The most popular post in our Facebook group this month was Sue Byrne trick for creating an affordable raised food bowl for her dog.

To comment on the post or shares suggestions go to:-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/simplesavers/permalink/1811456749003920/

Tasty recipe: Blueberry and Chocolate Muffins

A great way to keep your budget under control is to cook your own food. Here is one of Sandra's tasty, affordable delicious, budget busting recipes for you to try.

Blueberry and Chocolate Muffins

2 cups of self raising flour

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup of white chocolate bits/chopped chocolate

1 lightly beaten, large egg

¾ cup of buttermilk (see notes)

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180° for 10 minutes.

Grease muffin trays or line them with paper cases.

Sift flour into a large bowl.

Add brown sugar and chocolate to the bowl.

Mix dry ingredients together.

Gently stir in egg, buttermilk and vegetable oil.

Add blueberries. Don't overmix.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

NOTES

Don't overmix your muffins. If you stir the mixture too much you will end up with tough muffins instead of light and fluffy muffins.
if you don't like white chocolate, add 2 tablespoons cocoa to the SR flour (take out 2 tablespoons of SR flour if you do add the cocoa) and use chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate instead of white chocolate.
you can make buttermilk by adding a good squeeze of lemon juice OR vinegar to ¾ cup of milk. Stir and let it sit for a few minutes. This saves you from specifically buying Buttermilk.

If you are lactose intolerant, you can use your Lactose Free milk

to have even sized muffins use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cases/holes
buy Australian Blueberries during January, when they are cheap and plentiful and freeze them to use in other things.
I like a big generous muffin so I only filled 9 muffin holes

Here are some Blueberry and Chocolate Muffins fresh out of the oven.

Bye for now

Thank you for joining us for another newsletter.

Have a fabulously frugal, Budget Time February.

Sandra

January 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - January 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Reality Check
February is No Spend Month!
Best of the Vault: Simple Spend Less Solutions
Best of the Forum: Hey No Spenders!
Sophie Gray: No Spend Lunches
Penny's Blog: Friends in Frugal Places
Homeopathy Corner: Fran's Story
From Last Month: Student Life without Deepening Debt
This Month's Help Request: Fair Share for Singletons
Savings Stories: New Year, New Challenge and Keeping Each Other Honest

Hello,

How are you going? This year, your newsletter is following the challenges set out month by month in the War on Debt calendar we gave you for Christmas. If you haven't got your copy or you would like to read more about it, you can do so here. As you can see, No Spend Month is here again, woohoo! This is one of my favourite money saving challenges. Unfortunately my poor son Sam doesn't share my enthusiasm. I'll never forget him asking me last year, 'Mum, who invented No Spend Month?' 'Er, I guess I did,' I told him. 'Can you make it stop?' came the hopeful reply. Nice try son, but no!

You see, over the past few years, No Spend Month has become one of the most successful and highly anticipated events on the Simple Savings calendar. It first made an appearance three years ago. The goal was clear and simple - avoid spending at all costs! Around this time we also launched the Savings Diary to enable members to track how much they were spending each day and to record how much of it was essential or not. The Savings Diary proved such a valuable tool that members still use it every day to track and justify their spending. You can too!

If you have never given No Spend Month a go before, now's the time to give it a try! Don't forget to let us know how you go. There's nothing that makes us smile more than reading of your success!

"When I joined Simple Savings many years ago, I had no children and was working but had accumulated a lot of debt from having the travel bug for three or four years. Once I found out I was pregnant with my second child, I realised that using the credit cards for everything under the sun wasn't going to help me raise my children properly. I consolidated my credit cards (all three of them) and started paying them off. I lived on basic Centrelink payments whilst raising two children on a single parent's pension and as of Christmas Day have managed to pay off the $30,000 debt that I accrued. I owe SS for the important information and skills that I picked up to be able to do this. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"Now I have paid it all off, along with my car as of this month, I can save, for us to go travelling as a family TOGETHER and not have to worry about increasing the debts; I can use MY money." (Kathryn Gwatking)

"Thanks very much for the War on Debt calendar. I used it last year and switched around a couple of months so that the climatic seasons for growing vegies and so on worked here in Canada where I live. Being a hardcore frugalist I didn't think there would be a lot in there for me but the biggest surprise was 'Control Your Cash' month. We don't carry a balance on our credit cards so I was feeling a little self righteous about my credit history. We put our credit cards away and only used debit cards or cash. As of today we have gone 113 days without using credit cards. Visa and Mastercard may think we are dead! I am not an anti-credit card fanatic and would use them for motels or car rentals and so on, but it does feel good not to have to send off a payment at the end of the month." (Lew Harpelle)

"Last year I sat down and set up folders for my finances based on your War on Debt calendar. I didn't follow it as strictly as I could have, yet have still managed to slash a massive $15,000+ off our household debt - and still buy a few big ticket items like a caravan and new bedroom suite that we have been lusting after for years. I have also paid off two credit cards that have been hanging around with large balances for years. I still have one to go but using this year's strategies it will be gone before I know it.

"Today I have printed off this year's calendar and am busily making folders and goals for this year. After assessing last year's success I am going to follow the Simple Savings rules more strictly this year, I can't wait to see what I achieve!

"I believe strongly that one of the biggest contributors to divorce in this country is money problems. I know with finance plans in place there has certainly been a lot less fighting in my household. Thank you." (Elizabeth Glover)

"I have been a member of Simple Savings for two months now and I must say how much of a difference it has made to our lives. Financially we thought I had to go back to work for us to be able to get by but thanks to your website and some careful evaluation of our needs and wants, I am able to stay home and continue caring for our three children. We have done a budget and guess what? We may even get our honeymoon from seven years ago! This is such a wonderful start to the new year! Our big saving has come from the money box that we put all change in. It's almost full! Keep up the good work Simple Savings. We are so grateful for you and all the people who share their wonderful savings hints!" (Angela Hobins)

All the best,

Fiona Lippey

P.S. Want 15 minutes of fame? We are looking for interviewees who are willing to share how their Simple Savings membership has helped them. We know there are some wonderful people out there with incredible success stories who can help and inspire those who are really struggling. If this sounds like you, please get in touch here!

P.S.S. $21 Challenge Update - Book errors.

The great news is we sold out of New Zealand copies of the $21 Challenge book in December and the book is already into its first reprint. This gave us a fantastic opportunity to fix the errors in the first edition. If you would like to print out the error sheet, click here. (120kb PDF)

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Reality Check

"Muumm," Sally's daughter sidled up to her, smiling sweetly. "I know it's 'No Spend Month' and everything but I REALLY need a new school bag. My old one looks really budget and I've seen this awesome one at Surf's Up. It's like, $80 but it's SO cool! If I don't get it now, someone else will definitely buy it and I'll miss out! Can I get it - pleeease?" She looked at her mum, eyes pleading.

"Well, I suppose if you really need one we should get it while the sales are still on," sighed Sally. Great - there goes the money we had saved! she thought. Sally was feeling down in the dumps after all her hard efforts to save and phoned Hanna. "I can't believe it - No Spend Month is ruined already! I have to buy an $80 school bag," she grumbled. She jumped at the sound of hysterical laughter from Hanna.

"Oh really! Do you HAVE to? Or did she just make you think you have to?" Hanna chuckled. "Let me guess, she looked at you with those big doe-eyes? Yep, mine do that too, they even bat their eyelashes!" Sally didn't know what to say - was her daughter really trying to pull the wool over her eyes? "So you think she can do without it, then?" she asked Hanna. "Most definitely!" came the confident reply. "It's good for us mums to say 'no' every now and then!"

2. February is No Spend Month!

Saying 'no' can be hard at the best of times, but this month it's more important than ever that you say it loud and proud - because this month is No Spend Month!

If you have just joined us, you can read more about what it is and how it works by checking out these links to previous newsletters:

No Spend Month 2008

</newsletter/2008/january/>

No Spend Month 2009

</newsletter/2009/february/>

These links will also give you some handy tips and strategies for surviving your No Spend Month so we highly recommend you take a look but in a nutshell, your mission for the month is not to spend a SINGLE CENT unless absolutely necessary. Obviously this doesn't mean that you are not allowed to buy anything at all, we all have to live! You CAN spend money on items you really need - but only if it is truly essential, such as:

Food
rent or mortgage payments
prior monthly bills
transport to and from school and work.

Unfortunately, most people confuse the word 'want' for 'need' which leaves a big hole for marketers to duck in and persuade you to buy goods you never needed or wanted in the first place. So this month, if you hear yourself or others saying they need something. Ask yourself and them, do they really need it or only want it, because this month you can only spend money on things you need for survival.

Sounds tough? Yep - but it really works and that's why it's so hugely popular among Simple Savings members. You would not believe how much financial headway you can make in just one month, simply by not spending! It's a fantastic opportunity to evaluate your spending habits and *gulp* see just how much money you waste.

Saying 'no' to almost everything for a whole month requires commitment and a steel resolve but you can make your No Spend Month easier and more enjoyable simply by enlisting the help of a friend. As our story above shows, Hanna saved her friend Sally $80 in the space of a single phone call. Next time you find yourself feeling vulnerable and under pressure to buy, buy, buy, instead of giving in or blowing a gasket, reach for the phone and call a friend. A No Spend Friend! Someone who you can openly and honestly discuss money. Someone who understands your desire to get ahead and you know will support you. Someone to help you stay focused and help you to say 'No'. If you don't have someone you can call for advice, come and join our Forum and get help from other members. They've been there, done that and will help you to stay strong.

With the help of a 'No Spend Friend', you will be protected from the two biggest 'No Spend' obstacles:

Kids. Kids are brilliant at ganging up on us and manipulating us in order to get what they want. Any parent knows how convincing those big doe-eyes can be! However, your friends do not have the same emotional attachment to your children as you do. They can spot when your darling offspring are trying to pull the wool over your eyes a mile off and will enable you to stop and think rationally about whether the latest 'must have' is a want or a need.

Marketers. There are so many times when thinking of purchasing something that we could do with the help and honest opinion of a friend - and we don't just mean someone to ask 'Does my bum look big in this?' when out clothes shopping! It can be very hard to resist buying an item which has had an entire team of marketers dream up the best way to make you want to buy it. You need someone outside the ring who has not been hypnotised by the sales pitches, the flashy displays or the pretty packaging. A 'No Spend Friend' will help you get through those tempting times with your wallet intact.

So this month, find yourself a No Spend Friend! Email this newsletter to a friend and ask 'would you like to be my companion in this?' Email your family members and tell them 'I really want to have a go at No Spend Month and see how much I can save. Can I ring you when I am in trouble? I would really like your help.' If you haven't visited our Forum before and would like the friendship and support of like-minded people during No Spend Month, you can become a Vault member here. Don't forget, we offer a 365 day 'no questions asked' money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose - even during No Spend Month!

3. Best of the Vault: Simple Spend Less Solutions

One of the fantastic things about No Spend Month is that you really don't know what you can do until you try. Members are always amazed at just how little they are able to spend once they really put their minds to it! So, no more excuses! Get started on your own 'No Spend Month' challenge with the help of these terrific tips from the Vault.

Tips for No Spend Month

During a No Spend Month, team up with a like-minded buddy or family member to alleviate any unnecessary spending. There are so many things you can do in partnership, or on your own, including:

Raid each others' pantries rather than make a trip to the shops.
When heading out to run errands, make one trip for both buddies/families.
Pay bills online.
Raid each others' cupboards or gardens before buying gifts.
Cancel the lawn-mowing for the month.
When cooking, cook surplus and deliver to your buddy/family.
Cancel or defer any donations for the month.
Make greeting cards from household materials including card and glitter. Use downloadable images too.

As you've seen, no spend is no problem!

Contributed by: Catherine Stevens

The key to simple saving is a spend-free weekend.

Celebrate being a Simple Saver, with a spend-free weekend!

A spend-free weekend saves money in so many ways. Petrol, takeaways, groceries, admission fees and more. With at least one spend-free weekend a month, you will save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. At the end of each spend-free weekend, use the money you've saved to reduce debt or increase your savings account.

Contributed by: Chocoholic Mummy

'Zero spend days' make savings out of nothing

My New Year resolution was to take a close look at the family budget, and we have come up with a great way to motivate us to spend less - we call it 'zero dollar days'. We challenge each other to see how many days a week, then a month, we can spend nothing. We pay all our bills on the same day and try to spend money only on one day of the weekend. It means you have to be more creative about how to entertain yourself, and you sometimes have to go without things until the next shopping day, but it was very satisfying to see that five of the first six days of this year were marked with a big $0 on the calendar. The visual confirmation is important for spurring us on.

Contributed by: Paige Ocean

A simple statement for Simple Savers

This simple statement helps me save money and stops me from buying luxury items I don't really need:

'Every dollar I don't spend is one dollar I don't have to earn again.'

Every $25 I don't spend is one hour I don't have to work! Thanks to this statement, my rainy day account is growing, my debts are going down, and I no longer live from pay cheque to pay cheque.

Contributed by: Linda Keech

Monthly get together without spending

My mother, sister and I have changed our spendthrift ways to help each other out and enjoy quality time and a regular meal together.

We used to spend our weekends shopping. Of course we bought things we did not need. Even worse, we spent tons of money on eating out in the mall! So, we changed our habits! Once a month we spend a day at one of our houses, taking it in turns. The hostess is responsible for lunch and the others help her with a project around her house.

For example, we have painted a playroom, done general cleaning, cleaned a garage, collected items for charity and more!

Contributed by: Kellie Van

Another no spend success story

The No Spend Month has motivated me to complete more craft projects than ever before!

If you can't spend then there is no need to go out as much, so staying at home or taking a portable craft project to the park is helping me get through craft projects I have had on the back burner for a while.

This saves me from going into the dreaded fabric shop where it is difficult to come out without a making a purchase and forces me to make the most of the craft supplies I already have.

Contributed by: Tracy G

No spend days help seek out free pastimes

I have cut back on unnecessary spending by allocating two days a week as 'no spend days'. I recently retired but found I still wanted to go out every day for the social interaction. The problem was that going out would always lead to me spending money on coffee or the odd purchase I didn't really need. I now have two days a week when I do not allow myself to spend money. This makes me seek out free activities like going to the library to read the papers, and saves me heaps on my monthly expenses.

Contributed by: Sue Allen

Ask your housemates to 'no spend month'

Completing a 'no spend month' with your housemates will show them just how much money can be saved on your electricity bill when you all really try. Hopefully the savings will be significant enough to convince your housemates to continue to use less electricity. If you continue to be careful with your usage but your housemates revert back to their old habits, suggest they pay the extra amount each month thereafter. If you keep coming up against negativity, maybe you are not compatible housemates?

Contributed by: Krystal Makiha

For Vault members only:

Our daily money watch Contributed by: Kathryn

Set goals and save together Contributed by: Kim S

Saving money is all fun and games Contributed by: Dale Findlay

Set the right example for our kids Contributed by: Sally Landers

4. Best of the Forum: Hey No Spenders!

No spend? No sweat! Our Savings Forum is full of experienced 'No Spenders' who can be counted on to provide encouragement, praise or even the voice of reason just when you need it most!

No spend challenge - back on the wagon!

We all struggle at times and have setbacks with our spending. If you need some support and encouragement then confess your spending sins here and start again!
read more...

Major no spend challenge

If you found you have gone overboard with your credit spending then you may be in need of a 'major' no spend challenge! Join the members as they discuss how they plan to fight back against debt.
read more...

Need help to stop the spending!

Jules is having difficulty focusing on her long term goals. She would like to renovate her house and maybe take a holiday - but she can't seem to stop splurging all her money on life's little luxuries, such as make-up, shoes, handbags and more! Fortunately, the Forum members are on hand with heaps of brilliant suggestions for bringing her spending under control.
read more...

Help! Stop my eBay addiction...

If you have an eBay addiction you're not alone! Bring it back under control this month with the 'No Spend Challenge'.
read more...

No spend days - how many can you do?

How low can you go? Each month members try and win against the spending monster. Join in and see how many days you can go!
read more...

Reducing our spending

If you are finding the No Spend a little difficult take some tips from these members that have been doing it since November and they are still going!
read more...

5. Sophie Gray: No Spend Lunches

I daren't calculate how many lunches I have made in my lifetime. The fact is, for the best part of two decades I have begun the day with a roll of lunch wrap and a scowl.

My first waking thought every morning has become 'what will I put in their lunches?'

I could just buy the pre-packaged lunch stuff as lots of people do - it's a multi billion dollar industry after all. But I won't. Not only is much of it junk food, it's simply too expensive to waste.

A healthy lunch is cheap to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already, so forget spending up on pre-packed treats and prepare your own. My 'snatch n' grab' lunch box stuffers are prepared in our kitchen on Sunday night. These include:

Making individual jellies with fruit in re-useable containers. These are better for the environment and cheaper than the store-bought ones. Suitable fruits are peaches, pears, banana, apricots and berries - fresh pineapple and kiwifruit can make the jelly runny - something to do with acid I think.
Preparing some similar containers of yoghurt so you can alternate.
Making home popped corn and packing in snaplock bags.
Home baking - mini muffins are ideal as they're a more appropriate serving size of what is essentially cake and 'minis' go such a long way.
Home-made muesli bars or some other bar or slice - flapjacks made with rolled oats are cheap and tasty and really easy to make.
Freezing small sweet or savoury scones that can be pulled out of the freezer as required.
A 'main event'- sandwich, roll, crackers, sushi, rice salad, left over pasta salad or noodles, piece of quiche or pizza from a previous meal, cold sausage or one of my 'mitey cheese scrolls'...

These recipes are made from pantry staple ingredients so hopefully you already have everything in stock.

Lunch box scrolls

This recipe makes a big batch of dough that divided in half makes 12 savoury and 12 sweet 'scrolls' for the lunch boxes. If you prefer you can double the amount of filling and just make them all one flavour or try your own variations.

Makes 12 mitey-cheese scrolls and 12 spicy custard sultana scrolls

For the dough:

6 cups plain flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 sachet instant dried yeast - (8 grams of instant yeast)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 ½ cups warm water

Mitey-cheese filling

1 ½ tbsp Marmite
1 tbsp margarine or table spread
1 ½ cups grated cheese

Spicy custard and sultana filling

1 tbsp custard powder
½ tbsp sugar
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup sultanas
2 tbsp honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
Extra brown sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

In a large bowl combine the sugar, salt, flour, yeast and oil. Stir in the warm water and mix to form a soft dough, turn it on to the bench adding more flour if needed, then knead until smooth and springy, 5-8 minutes.

Place dough into a clean greased bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on low power for 1 minute, rest the dough for 10 minutes then repeat. After the second rest the dough should have doubled in size. (Alternatively set aside in a warm place until doubled in size.)

While the dough is rising make the custard. Mix the custard powder with ¼ cup milk to form a smooth paste, whisk in the remaining ½ cup milk and sugar and heat gently, stirring continuously until the custard is thick - this will only take a minute or two. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Soak the sultanas in boiling water to plump them up and then drain them and set aside.

Beat the Marmite and table spread together with a bread and butter knife till completely combined.

Punch the dough down, knead lightly and divide into two pieces.

Roll each piece out to a rectangle roughly 40 cm x 30 cm or around the size of a Swiss roll pan if you don't have a ruler handy.

Make sure there is plenty of flour underneath the dough so it can't stick.

You are now ready to assemble the scrolls.

For mitey-cheese scrolls

Spread the dough with the Marmite mixture - a spatula or rubber scraper is helpful. Sprinkle with a cup of grated cheese then roll up from the long side to form a log.

Divide the log in half then cut each half into 6 thick slices. Place the slices so the scroll faces up on a greased baking tray and top each one with the remaining grated cheese.

Allow the scrolls to rise for around 10 minutes before baking.

Spicy custard sultana scrolls

These are not nearly as well behaved, so work quickly and if they get a bit loose and soggy don't worry they'll still taste great when baked!

Knock the air out of the dough and roll it out as for mitey-cheese scrolls. Spread gently with warmed honey then add the cooled custard keeping it well away from the edges. Quickly sprinkle on the sugar and spice mixture and the sultanas and pat down gently.

Roll up and slice as fast as you can or the sugar will start to melt and leak out. I often find I have to scoop the last couple of scrolls onto their greased tray with a spatula and rearrange them a little. Sprinkle with a little extra brown sugar and cinnamon.

When baked they will be golden and tasty if a little 'irregular'. They make great lunch box or picnic food - really filling.

Bake both types of scrolls in an oven preheated to 190° for 15-20 minutes or until risen and golden. Remove immediately to a cooling rack so the scrolls don't stick to the trays as they cool.

Cook's tip: If you prefer you can omit the custard from the fruit and spice scrolls and just have them as spicy sultana scrolls. They are great drizzled with a little glace icing. Like a simplified Chelsea Bun.

Flapjack

Not to be confused with fat breakfast pancakes, this flapjack is a Scottish slice and is incredibly simple to make. Oats are very nutritious and Flapjack keeps well, it's perfect with a mug of tea or glass of milk - or try it crumbled over ice cream as a crunchy topping.

Makes 24 pieces

400g medium porridge oats
175g butter
150g brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup

Pre heat the oven to 180°.

Line a Swiss roll tin with non-stick baking paper.

Melt together the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar then mix in the oats.

Press into the prepared tin and compact the mixture pressing down firmly with a spatula or palette knife.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and score into pieces with a sharp knife. Cool completely before removing from the tin. Store in an airtight container.

Sophie Gray is the author of the range of Destitute Gourmet cookbooks. www.DestituteGourmet.com

6. Penny's Blog: Friends in Frugal Places

Jan 12, 2010

Phew, this No Screens Month lark is wearing us all out! Not that we're complaining, we've been having heaps of fun. The dogs are all undergoing a rigorous exercise program, with twice-daily sessions from their masters. The evening board games are currently being replaced by trampoline contests. The boys have appointed me as their judge and I have to give them both marks out of 10 as they go through their various repertoires of forward flips, backwards flips and other contortions. The only real rule is that if either one of them lands on their bottom, then that round is void and they have to do it again. A simple rule but one which makes for much hilarity as the pair of them end up in all sorts of flamboyant poses in their desperate attempts NOT to land on their bum. Rather like Twister for trampolinists! Mind you, the boys are starting to get more competitive and are demanding more rules be instated as time goes on. Still, when I think of what we would normally be doing of an evening, watching our various screens, I'm more than happy to oblige.

Most afternoons are spent at the local pool, which is usually followed by a session at the school cricket nets, perfecting their batting and bowling skills. The cricket pitch at home still gets daily use but now the boys can bowl at around 110km an hour they need a bit more room! Ali is now a fully fledged zoo volunteer and spends every day he can up there, doing anything from raking leaves to chopping up food for the emus or making toys for the new elephant. All the visitors to the zoo chat to him and ask him questions about the various animals, which he loves. He also loves the unlimited ice blocks and chocolate bars he gets for doing a good job!

As for me, I've been overcome by an uncontrollable urge to cook - in particular I want to bake. Unfortunately it's not really the best time of year for spending hours inside a sweltering kitchen. The weather has been so hot - and we've all been so active - the only meals we feel like eating are barbecues and salads. The cosy, candlelit family dinners we enjoyed so much in winter have been replaced by the four of us sitting around the table in blazing sunshine, fanning ourselves with all the windows and doors open. Don't get me wrong, I love this glorious weather! It's just not ideally suited to dishing up sticky, steamed caramel pudding, heavy, calorie-laden lasagnes and all the other things I've been dreaming of making.

So I've been contenting myself with reading recipe books instead. I love cook books! Probably a little too much unfortunately but this is something I am determined to get under control this year. I have a tendency to be mesmerised by their tempting covers and will happily fork out half of the week's grocery bill in my rose tinted pursuit of being a domestic goddess. Sadly, nine times out of ten I get the aforementioned books home, only to find that our motley crew wouldn't touch most of the recipes with a barge pole and I end up selling them for a fraction of the price on Trade Me. Happy Hanna though I strive to be, I have lost count of how many times I did this in 2009!

You see, I have a confession to make. While I consider myself to be a naturally friendly person, I'm a real home body. I'm not one of life's 'ringer-uppers' or 'popper-inners'. It's nothing personal, it's just our family time is so rare and precious that we like to spend our spare time together, rather than visiting other people. So when it comes to 'should I buy this?' or 'is Nigella's latest any good?' I often don't have anybody to discuss it with or to say 'Nooooo!' Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly Penny No-Mates! It's just you can know an awful lot of people without having any actual bosom buddies. That's me, I guess. For a long time I've relied on my own judgement when it comes to what-to-buy-and-what-not-to-buy and unfortunately there are times it has let me down!

Just before Christmas, however, I found a method which really worked. I went to see 'Julie and Julia' at the movies, and like everyone else in the theatre I came out drooling and dreaming of chocolate cream pie and Boeuf Bourguinonne. I NEEDED to buy a copy of 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'! Well, I thought I needed it - I certainly wanted it! I wanted to cook just like Julia Child and Julie Powell. I went straight to the bookstore and there it was, all pristine white and inviting, with dainty little Fleur de Lys. I wanted it! The only thing which put me off was the price at $49.95. The Simple Saver in me told me to stop and think. I had just come out of the movie and was swept up in a whirl of French cuisine. Can you imagine how many books that movie has helped to sell? To people like me, who rush out of the cinema thinking 'I HAVE to know how to make butter sauce!'

This time, however, I held my horses. Instead of buying it straight away, I went home and asked the Forum! Almost immediately they came up with a list of smarter alternatives, shared their own experiences of the book and made me realise that I didn't need it after all. It was great! It's not something I would normally have included anyone else in my decision about but I knew that the Forum would be able to give me an honest answer and it was even better than I had hoped. I rang the local library, who had just got a brand new copy in and excitedly went to pick it up. For one whole month that cookbook I had wanted so much sat on my bookshelf. I didn't make a single thing from it - not even the Boeuf Bourguinonne. Just goes to show how much I 'needed' that book. Thank you lovely Forum friends for saving me from yet another culinary book disaster. I have a feeling it won't be the last!

Fortunately I have a couple of new interesting cook books which will keep me going for a while yet. My mother-in-law gave me 'The Aunt Daisy Cookbook' for Christmas. Aunt Daisy was a beloved voice on NZ radio from the 1930's to her sad passing in the 1960's. 'Good morning everybody!' she would greet everyone each morning without fail, before launching into her daily session of recipes, hints and ideas. During her many years of broadcasting, Aunt Daisy gathered up thousands of recipes and published ten recipe books. While she passed away before I was even born, I imagine us Simple Savers would have still enjoyed listening to her show today! I was really chuffed to receive this collection of recipes from days gone by; then my mum was surprised to find an original copy of 'Mrs Beeton's Everyday Cookery and House-Keeping Book', printed back in 1894! She didn't even realise she had it and unearthed it quite by chance during a decluttering session. We can only suppose it belonged to my great-grandmother but I was delighted when Mum gave it to me. Between Mrs Beeton and Aunt Daisy, I think I'm in for quite an education!

January 2010

6th - Crafty cows and wascally wabbits

25th - No Screens Paradise

7. Homeopathy Corner: Fran's Story

Fran wasn't always a homeopath. In fact Fran was a sceptic. This month Fran shares some of her story about how she was first introduced to homeopathy and why she has devoted her life to it.

To read Fran's story go to:-

homeopathyplus.com.au/hplus/your-story/becoming-a-homeopath-the-early-days.html

8. From Last Month: Student Life without Deepening Debt

Last month Caitlyn Murphy asked:

"I'm a 20-year-old student who has had to move out of home in order to study. I wasn't really prepared for the expenses of living away from home, and as such, have incurred debt. Thanks to your site, I have ideas of what I can do to get rid of this debt, but I'm scared that next year when I go back to uni I'll put myself further into debt. I can't do a lot about textbooks and accommodation - they're going to be huge expenses regardless of whether I buy second hand. However, groceries are a problem I feel could be handled better. My freezer space is about 30 cm x 15 cm x 30 cm - so I don't have a lot of space to buy bulk and freeze meals, and buying fresh food for one person is expensive. Do you have any suggestions about meal ideas or ways I can cut down huge bills?"

Skip meat not classes

Meat is the biggest expense in a meal budget, so why not go semi-vegetarian?

Keep eating fresh fruit and vegetables, and start cooking with beans and lentils. All you need to remember is that if you combine a bean and a grain, you have a total protein. Most nights, aim to have no meat at all and enjoy felafel in pita bread, chilli con carne on rice, pasta with beans and vegetable sauce, eggs dishes and, of course, baked beans on toast.

It's ok to indulge in meat every now and then, but be sure you buy meat that delivers a lot of flavour for not much cash, for example, a single rasher of bacon will add a lot of flavour to salads, egg dishes and potato meals. Also, bulk up meat dishes by adding a tin of cannellini beans or butter beans.

Contributed by: Theresa Whitaker

Asian-inspired budget meals

I encountered budgetary problems during my first year at university, but I discovered that an Asian style diet was a big help.

Rice is a cheap and healthy way of bulking up meals and can even be eaten for breakfast! Buying a rice cooker was one of the best investments I have ever made - make sure you get one with a lid that snaps closed, not just a glass lid like a saucepan lid. You can pick up a rice cooker for around $30 from retailers like Kmart or Target.

The beauty of a rice cooker is that you can simply add things like vegetables, fish and Chinese sausages to the steaming tray above your rice, and in 30 minutes you have a cheap and healthy meal with a minimum of fuss. I calculated that I could cook a meal of rice, steamed lemon fish and vegetables for less than a dollar a serve!

Miso soup is a delicious, healthy and cheap accompaniment to rice dishes, and requires only a small amount of fridge space. You can also add a variety of different dried additives for even more flavour, such as seaweed and fried tofu that can be kept in jars.

Contributed by: Sarah Pn

The benefits of being a nanny

After her first year at university, my daughter had incurred huge costs as she had moved interstate. Things were much better during her second year when she took on a part time position as a live-in nanny to three children under 12. This made her very organised, and she also had access to free accommodation and good food, plus a small allowance to cover costs. Best of all, she was in a loving home and when she came down sick, she had someone to keep an eye on her.

Other friends took on non-live-in nanny positions, while others cleaned homes or took on more traditional part-time work. However, for my daughter, being a live-in nanny was the best solution and she is still very close to all three children.

Contributed by: Chris Hillbrick-Boyd

Interest free textbook loans

Most universities offer interest free loans for textbooks which you can pay back at any rate you can afford, for example, $20 per week. This doesn't cost you any extra but it means you don't have to fork out an extraordinary amount of money in one go. Well worth checking out!

Contributed by: Emma Seabrook

Communal cooking saves gazillions!

When my sister was at university, and cooking for one, she found a few friends who were in a similar situation, so they agreed to try communal cooking.

One person would be in charge of pre-dinner nibbles, someone else did the main course and my sister always offered to do dessert - she could make delicious desserts for several people for less than $4.00, much cheaper than making a main course at up to $20!

My sister loved the cheap meals and the social aspect as they all discussed their lives at university. Many years later she is still close with the cooking crowd, has saved gazillions of dollars and can cook desserts very well!

Contributed by: Anita Kingdom

Boarding beats flatting

Try boarding instead of flatting. I boarded with people that my family knew, and in exchange for cleaning the house once a week and cooking for them twice a week, I was charged a very reasonable board which included rent, basic phone and internet, electricity and food. I was allowed to come and go as I pleased, so it was no different to flatting in that regard and I found that it was a lot nicer to live in a place that wasn't party central all the time!

Contributed by: Mel Boyce

A feast on a shoestring

Here's my suggestion for a week's worth of meals that won't take up much freezer space:

At the start of the week, buy a kilogram of mince, half a chicken breast and a lamb chop - bag the mince into five lots of 200 grams. You will also need a range of your preferred vegetables. Freeze the chicken, the lamb chop and two portions of mince.

Day 1 - Make massive fried rice, using browned and seasoned mince. Proportions should be roughly 1/5 meat, 2/5 rice, 2/5 vegetables. This makes so much rice that you will probably end up with three meals - eat one now, put one in the fridge and freeze the other one.

Day 2 - Spaghetti bolognaise, with a 50:50 mix of mince and lentils. Remove half the mix before adding the Italian herbs and store in fridge.

Day 3 - This is your 'spoil yourself' day. Make a gorgeous butter-chicken, using the chicken breast and a good recipe. Do crispy baked potatoes and vegetables to go with it.

Day 4 - Mix up another batch of mince and lentils, and use it to make a lasagne. You might want a 2:1 mix of meat to lentils for this one. If you put lots of vegetables in it, you'll probably have enough for two meals.

Day 5 - Grill the lamb chop and enjoy with char-grilled vegetables and your choice of pasta, rice or potatoes.

Day 6 - Take the leftover mince/lentil mix; add Cajun spice and pepper to make a Mexican mix for tacos.

Day 7 - Eat the leftover lasagne or fried rice, or use a frozen batch of mince to make another dish.

After all this, you should still then have three meals, or the foundation thereof, left over!

Contributed by: Clare Pascoe

Being bothered pays off

With careful planning, and some effort, you can make ends meet!

Be bothered to make your lunch, instead of buying it. Refill your water bottle and freeze it overnight, then make a salad and put it in a container for lunch the next day. When you pack your lunch, put the frozen drink bottle next to the container and it will act as an ice brick. By doing this, you can save $70-$80 per week.

If you have a part time job relating to your course, take the time to check whether you can claim your text book costs on your tax; there's a savings potential here of around $600.

This time investment could be the best time you will ever spend!

Contributed by: Vicki Crampton

Think of the rewards

I want you to remember that this struggle is only for a short time; by putting yourself through university, you'll be bettering your life by doing something you enjoy, and with a qualification you'll be able to look after yourself for a lifetime! But until that time comes, here's some advice!

To save on utilities, just remember - you can live without a landline! I have a Virgin Mobile month by month plan which costs $30 per month but gives me $170 worth of calls.

When it comes to electricity, you can buy really cheap energy saver globes for everything in your place. Look for them at IKEA or even a discount retailer like The $2 Shop. To save even more on electricity, turn things off at the power point when you're not using them. As for gas heating, only use it if you're really cold! Put on a jumper or use a blanket and try to stay warm that way.

By the way, I got through my degree living alone, renting privately and living on a youth allowance, plus a four hour a week job earning me around $100 pw. It can be done!

Contributed by: Rhonda Pawlowski

Make a meal of it

Find six other people on a budget and then, once a week, you can each cook for seven people. You can choose whether to eat together at the cook's home, or you may decide to collect your meal and take it home. The meals could be frozen for convenience or served hot; the only rule should be that all meals should be nutritious. Even cooking a roast for seven people once a week is much cheaper and easier than cooking seven meals for one person.

Contributed by: Michele Ryan

Think ahead, cook ahead

You can cook a week's worth of meals on a weekend afternoon and freeze individual portions for the week ahead. Add notes to the portions, for example, 'add slices of potato and layer on top; roast 45 minutes' so you know what to do when you thaw out the portion. You'll be surprised how much cooked food you can fit in a small freezer, plus fewer vegetables are wasted as they last well once cooked and frozen.

Contributed by: Beate Teale

For Vault members:

Small freezer is no problem Contributed by: Bj Kirk

Survive and thrive Contributed by: Yummy Mummy

Lots of food for thought Contributed by: Victoria Boulter Groening

The spirit of co-operation Contributed by: Jannine Ord

Top marks to markdowns Contributed by: Michelle Dobell

9. This Month's Help Request: Fair Share for Singletons

This month Julia asks:

Sounds like Julia needs some help and we know you are the right people to ask! If you have any ideas on how Julia can work towards her savings without avoiding the family dinners then we would love to hear from you here.

10. Saving Stories: New Year, New Challenge and Keeping Each Other Honest

New Year, New Challenge

Christmas 2009 was the worst I ever had, having just separated from my husband. At almost 50 I found myself homeless with no money. On the 16th of December I found a share accommodation but had to borrow money from friends to pay for my bond and two weeks rent so that I could have a roof over my head. The only job I was able to do to keep me going was as a housekeeper, yet I could hardly pay for the petrol to get to work.

For four weeks, I avoided going to the shops. I am 90% vegetarian so decided to grow all the vegetables I like to eat at my rented home. I collected some seeds, seedlings and cuttings from friends and customers and decided to spend my last $10 for chicken wire to protect my homegrown herbs and vegetables from possums and bush turkeys. I am spending time tending my garden every day and I now have lettuces, beans, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, herbs and so on for salads and stir fries every day. I even have enough to give some to my friends and customers to thank them for helping me to stand on my own feet and living a healthy life. This week I only spent $16 for organic eggs, milk, a tin of pink salmon and a loaf of bread. These with my homegrown herbs and vegetables will give me a healthy diet for the whole week. I am saving heaps to pay my debts as fast as I can.

At soon-to-be-50 and with no savings, I bought The $21 Challenge book to challenge myself. I am so excited because I spent years of feeding a family of four and now I am alone I have absolute control of what I spend and what I put in my mouth. I feel liberated, I feel young and full of energy. Having less money in 2010 is more enjoyable than my stressful life in 2009!

Contributed by: Eve

Keeping Each Other Honest

My friend and I are enjoying losing weight, saving money and regaining our lives together - even though we live 200 km apart! Whilst we can't do things together, the pair of us have been recording everything we eat since Christmas Eve. At night, we use Skype, which is free, to report to each other what we have eaten during the day, and how much exercise we have done. We also keep each other informed of both our weight loss and measurements every day or two. It really helps to keep each other honest. With each other's help we are both saving on:

Food in the grocery basket which is not necessary or nutritious
fad dieting, which is bad for the metabolism
spending money on diet clubs or programs
long phone calls
a terrible future dictated by the long-term effects of diabetes
any embarrassment of having to weigh ourselves in public.

We have also discovered there are other advantages too, such as:

Giving away clothes which are too big to someone in need
enjoying the acknowledgement of that person for your help each time they wear your clothes
feeling and looking better and stronger as the weeks go by
fitting into the clothes I have bought on eBay in anticipation of these changes in lifestyle
learning that lifestyle is the ultimate choice. This is not a diet; this is my life from now on!

Contributed by: Kay

January 2012 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - January 2012

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: You SHALL Go to the Ball!
February is No Spend Month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner
Lin's Garden Diary
Best of the Forum: No Spend, No Worries
Best of the Vault: Super Saving Season
Cooking with Mimi: Back to School Lunch Boxes
Penny's Blog: Lime and Soda
Homeopathy Corner: Long Term Savings
From Last Month: Healthy Lunch Box Options
This Month's Help Request: Radishes!
Savings Story: $21 Challenge Wake Up!
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Hello,

How are you going? I hope you are having an excellent month. This month we have one of my favourite challenges - No Spend Month! This challenge is a great way to learn the difference between the words 'want' and 'need', and to save a big pile of money while you're at it. Past years have shown us it is easy to save yourself as much as $1000 in No Spend Month. We love it!

"I probably am one of your oldest readers (just turned 80) but I still enjoy reading all your hints. I am now putting your $21 Challenge into practise and loving it. It's making me sit and look at what I really have on hand, and how I can utilise it in every way possible with plenty of variety. It is simply amazing what people can work out and do when money is short. Keep up the hints." (Betty Threlfo)

"I own a copy of The $21 Challenge and it is an amazing read. I subconsciously used a lot of the information last week as we were very low on funds whilst waiting on two payments to come through. I looked back on last week and realised that I had spent a lot less than I normally would. I hadn't been trying to do the Challenge but I think if I had been taking notice of the amount of money I was spending then I probably wouldn't have been far off.

"Also I wanted to thank all the lovely ladies who have been sending in such wonderful hints and tips. I think they are amazing. My membership has certainly been saved many times over." (Peta Hills)

"I love your calendar; I use it to write all my bills paid and all my weekly expenses on it. I then total them up at the side in categories such as food, household, personal and so on and total it at the bottom of the page. This gives me a record each month of how much my expenses are and when it's time to budget! I use the previous year's calendar to see what bills are coming up the following month too, for example, rates, water, insurance and so on, so I can budget for them too. It gives me a chance to check to see what has increased in price as well." (Diane Green)

"I have only just recently found your site and joined the Vault. What a revelation! But, more importantly, what a wonderful group of people contribute to and enjoy your hints and suggestions. I feel like I'm part of a big family. Do you feel the warmth and friendship and this as well? When I'm feeling down and overwhelmed by things and life in general I log on to your site and 'join the group'. It lifts my spirits to connect with others out there just like me. Thank you all, you've saved my sanity. With love and gratitude." (Rhonda Trott)

If you didn't grab yourself a copy of the calendar at Christmas, it's not too late! You can download it here :-

www.simplesavings.com.au/wealthyhabits

All the best,
Fiona

P.S. BIG DISCOUNT: $21 Challenge books for sale. (Australian addresses only)

OK, I made an *ahem* teensy mistake ordering $21 Challenge books and we have run out of Australian copies. BUT! We have a big pile of New Zealand books needing a good home. The only difference is the cover; everything inside the book is exactly the same so we are selling New Zealand copies of the Challenge for $10 per book plus postage. (This special is only for Australian addresses. Changes in the book industry mean it is very expensive for us to ship books to NZ and our NZ stock is now sitting in Australia. Don't ask!) Nab some now and tuck them away!

To order your copies go to www.simplesavings.com.au/order/?21dc

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: You SHALL Go to the Ball!

After some fantastic suggestions from Forum members last month (not to mention welcoming a new staff member called Linda!) we are changing Linda's name in the Sally and Hanna stories to Clueless Chloe. Thank you for your help.

Sally had just made herself a nice cup of tea and was looking out of the window when she noticed her new neighbour, Tom, leaving Clueless Chloe's house looking downcast. "That was a short visit; he can't have been there more than ten minutes! I wonder what's happened." Sally thought. Before long curiosity got the better of her and she headed next door.

Chloe greeted Sally with open arms. "Come in! I'm so glad you dropped by!" "Oh really? That's a relief, I didn't want to bother you - I just wanted to borrow some sugar." Sally lied through her teeth. "It's great timing actually - you just caught me throwing myself a pity party. You see, Tom was just here. He invited me out for a Valentine's Day dinner... but I had to say no." Sally's jaw hit the floor. "You said NO? But why? I thought you liked him!"

"I DO like him. I would have loved to go!" Linda confessed sadly. "But I don't have anything to wear and I am flat broke. I didn't want to go on a special date looking like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards!" Sally immediately swung into action. "Right - go and call him right now and tell him you have changed your mind. If there's one thing my mate Hanna taught me, it is that you don't have to have money to look good. She'll have you fixed up in no time!"

2. February is No Spend Month!

Do you think Tom would have enjoyed Chloe's company any more if she had spent a week's wages on a new outfit? Would he even have noticed if she had worn the same top before? The chances are, highly unlikely - but just like many of us do, Chloe got confused between a want and a need.

It's amazing how often we DON'T have to spend money if we just stop and think about it - but it's all too easy to fall into the familiar trap of thinking we DO have to. This is why No Spend Month is so fan-flippin-tastic!

What is No Spend Month?

Only one of the most popular challenges on the Simple Savings calendar for the past five years! The rules are as follows:

Your mission is to avoid spending money on ANYTHING in February other than the absolute essentials for your work, education or survival. Obviously there will be some things you cannot avoid, such as basic food and prior bills but apart from that your mission is to make sure you don't buy anything that is not essential.

For example, this month you should NOT be buying:-

Takeaway food of any sort
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Frozen dinners
Movies or videos
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol

Things you CAN spend money on:-

Rent or mortgage
Basic food
Utilities
Insurance
Petrol
Car
Health care
School essentials (meaning uniform, camps or stationery requirements, NOT money for the canteen!)
Other prior bills (we don't want you incurring late fees!)

Ooh, that sounds a bit harsh! What's in it for me?

Yes, we know it's harsh, but look at that list. How many of those things do you currently buy each month? Imagine how much you would save by NOT buying them for a month. Imagine how much headway you could make. Imagine all the things you could do to get ahead financially if you managed to keep all that money in your bank instead of automatically handing it over to shopkeepers for things you don't need. You could use it to pay off a credit card. You could pay some extra off the mortgage and save yourself some interest. You could use it to create an emergency fund to bring a little extra peace of mind. You could use it for a reward or holiday for your family. Put like that, isn't it worth the effort for a few short weeks?

No Spend Month will help you and your household break the cycle of thoughtless, wasteful spending. It really couldn't be easier - and besides, it's fun! Every day you can get through without spending makes you feel FANTASTIC! It makes you feel proud; it makes you feel as though you've done something really good, something really important in helping yourself and your family to get ahead. Go on, try it and you'll see!

To make your No Spend Month as easy and successful as possible, all it takes is a few minutes planning each day. Keep a savings diary - this can either be something as basic as a notebook or you can sign up for our free online savings diary. This is visible to you only and is very cool because a) we email you every evening so you can't forget to fill it in and b) it automatically adds up every cent you spend on non-essentials as you go, which really helps to strengthen your resolve! Whichever option you choose, fill it in at the end of each day with the following:

Write down every item you purchased for the day.
Write next to each item if it was essential - or not.
Write down a brief plan for the following day. What do you HAVE to do? Where do you HAVE to go? Can any of these be avoided or at least put off until another day? Thinking about what you need to do the night before will leave you clear headed and organised for a No Spend day the next day.
Write the following mantras in your Savings Diary and remind yourself of them each night or during those times when things seems really tough:
STOP, THINK and SAVE.
Is it essential for survival?
If in doubt, go without!

It really is possible to save as much as $1000 in a single month when you take part in this Challenge - and February is a short month. But don't just take our word for it - give it a go!

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members find it easier to source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a store, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you could be in to win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us, the better your chance of winning. This month's winner is Café Palazzo as nominated by Kylie K. Read her entry to see what makes them such a great example of a Hidden Gem.

Café Palazzo Coffee - Maranatha Imports

www.maranathaimport.com.au

"I have found a terrific online source for my favourite coffee at the right price! I have always loved the flavoured coffee from Café Palazzo. It is produced in Sydney and is Rainforest Alliance certified. It used to be available in both Coles and Woolies but Coles dropped it as a product line two or three years ago, so I had to go Woolies for it. A few weeks ago, however, Woolies dropped it too!

"Then by chance I found the manufacturer's website when looking for another shop that sells it. The prices from them are cheaper than Woolies sold it, even with delivery!

"The 200g packets of plunger coffee that Woolies and Coles used to sell are only sold in six packs, but work out cheaper than what I used to pay for them.

"They also have other varieties that weren't available in the supermarket and in a range of sizes and grind types. The last order I got was a flat $5.00 delivery, and I got six 200g packets and a 500g packet, delivered in under a week."

Congratulations on being this month's winner Kylie and a big pat on the back to Café Palazzo for fast service at a good price. If you know somewhere special that others would like to know about, please write in and tell us and you could win $100. Send in your hidden gem here. Thank you and good luck!

4. Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Clutterhen for this extract from her blog:

Routines, routines, routines

OK so I've finally succumbed. After all these years of avoiding them like the plague, I've got some routines. I've grown up. I've worked out that the single thing I've been avoiding, but that I've most needed to keep it all together, to make it all work and to get it all done so there is time to enjoy fun was... routines!

I've read it all before - routines keep our homes tidy. Routines keep our homes clean. Routines keep us organised and others wondering how we got it all done and had fun in the same amount of time that everyone else had. I say 'we' got it all done, but it's really been a vicarious 'we' as I've watched from the sidelines. Organised women turn up for work with wonderful stories about their weekends and with great things prepared for work, everything colour co-ordinated, homes and work areas decorated, lovely clothes, happy husbands and children, regular holidays and social activities. OK, OK so regular holidays could also have a bit to do with money, but read on.

I'm a creative soul, however, the thought of constraining myself with a chain of routines just made me cringe, shake my head, raise my hand and shout "NO THANKS NOT ME!" Meanwhile keeping my time free for spontaneous adventures. I watched all those organised people and they always made it look like there was a lot of work to routines. It looked like nobody had any spontaneity or a sense of freedom, they 'booked' in social engagements, planned their holidays, did tasks today that surely could have been put off until tomorrow! Whilst I sat sipping my cuppas and watched as they raced about cleaning this or folding that. I preferred to enjoy life. To enjoy the thrill and rush of the last-minute, winging it, flying by the seat of my pants, making it across the line just in time with a big rush of excitement that I'd managed to get it done and make an entrance!

The problem with the last-minute entrance was that it all worked out, well most of the time anyway, until I hit the grown-up years. You know; career, baby, tired, single, pressure. The rush now barely keeps me awake, the baby took my 'last-minutes' and used them on nappy blow-outs, sleeps that halted my trips to the shop to pick up the items I needed for dinner RIGHT NOW. Plus my wanting to cuddle her and make her giggle and smile. Not forgetting sleepless nights to attend to bubs whilst hanging on by the fingertips to a busy career and the exhaustion of an undiagnosed sleep apnoea.

Sure, I survived. I'm here aren't I?

Survival is just not enough anymore! I want to feel that rush of excitement at having done something good, not the rush of the last-minute adrenaline dash. The rush of pleasure that comes with having done a good job, making someone's day by sticking to my plans, meeting commitments on time and with a little breath still left in my sails. I think I used up every last drop of adrenaline I had in the past. I don't think I'll be able to make that work for me in quite the same way as before. I lost the ability to 'fire up' somewhere between the washing, report-writing, travelling 2+ hours a day for work and the invisible-ness of becoming a mother. There's no adrenaline rushes left in me.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE IT ALL. I love being a mum more than anything else. Ever! And I want that joy to come out from under the ironing and get caught up in some FUN!

So, some change was needed.

I now have a routine for my work mornings and I tweak it a little for my non-work mornings. It hasn't worked much during the holidays, but I did fire it up on our week away this month for our early starts each day. I think that's one of the keys to my success...keep to your routines. Get up at the same time each day. Go to bed at the same time each night. Have a focus for the day. It might be the focus of creative time or family time. It might be the focus of work or holiday activities. Whatever it is, I think that it is the key to feeling good about each day. And I don't mean slogging it out each day. I just mean a focus through which we can rest our heads at the end of the day knowing that we did something good, achieved something of purpose in our lives. We can rest our heads and look back over our day and feel a sense of fulfillment and achievement no matter whether your focus was for work or for play.

I now have a routine for going to bed each night. Yes, Flylady has helped me put much of these routines together. Of course tweaked to suit our needs. So at night I get my daughter to do her routine of preparing her clothes for the next day, teeth, toilet and tucked-in. I bought her a fun calendar for Christmas and we've added it to her nightly routine. She colours-in the leaf around the date and records what she did that day. She is really enjoying knowing what day of the week it is each day and tonight she read over all the things she's done so far this month as she prepares to return to school on Monday. She has worked out how many more sleeps until school starts and I noticed tonight that she's written "Wahoow" for Monday's return to school. HILARIOUS. I'm hoping that this simple routine will set her up for future studies and assignments, work and life in general. Keeping a simple record on your calendar is motivating, memory-making and a reminder of what you can achieve.

My going to bed routine is similar to my daughter's although there are a few adjustments to suit. I check my calendar, lay out my clothes for tomorrow, brush my teeth, moisturise my face, hands and feet, check my CPAP machine has water topped up, set my alarm, put on my CPAP mask and turn on machine, lights out, prayers. Off to sleep. Works every time. Although I might need to adjust when I say my prayers because I'm none too sure that I get to the Amen part? LOL

I have a routine for meals. I fill the sink with hot soapy water, start preparing the meal, wash up as I go and wash anything left in the sink since previous dishes were done. I tidy the kitchen as I go, toss science experiments from the fridge into the bin, call DD to take out rubbish and set the table. I'm loving this part of 'my' routines because DD is now old enough to help and with her needing to earn screen time she'll do almost anything! Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE Simple Savings? I make tomorrow's lunches and DD likes to help sometimes. I've sporadically made tomorrow's lunches on weekends as well and in the holidays so DD can eat when she is hungry. It saves a lot of preparation time during the day as I'm already in the kitchen and on the go whilst cooking dinner it just makes better sense. I dish up our meal and either wash or soak the last cooking utensils before heading out to the table.

DD and I say grace and eat together chatting and enjoying family time. DD will help clear the table straight after we have finished and I wash up immediately. DD enjoys playing in the soapy dish water so she sometimes does the dishes whilst I put leftovers in containers or sweep the floor etc. OH and DD has actually been vacuuming and sweeping floors to earn screen time here and there too. Gotta love help when the helper is keen to lend a hand without being asked and even more so without complaining!

There are routines for getting the washing done, cleaning out the car and my purse, decluttering and keeping the toilet and vanity clean and ready for my family to use or for unexpected visitors. I even have a routine now for booking appointments; I book whilst I'm there! Last few haircuts I booked whilst I was there. If I find I can't make it when the date comes around I simply ring to change the booking, but when I don't make the booking there is not always a reminder in my diary to book a haircut and I tend to get too busy to make calls during the work week so with this new routine it makes me get it done. I've managed to keep my new hair style for a year without a hassle.

But, there are still routines in need of being developed. Those for work, planning ahead so we have something to look forward to kind of fun with DD. Fun that she can record on her calendar and count down the days until we reach it. We've just started doing this, but it is in its early days and I'm prone to not feeling like doing certain things on certain days when they're not spontaneous. Having said this, DD needs a bit more routine so she has something to look forward to so I am very keen to discipline myself on this one. I need to plan routine times for getting to my hobbies even when work gets busy. I need to plan social fun; adult time out without kids to find that sense of humour and wit I once enjoyed.

The result of all these routines being set is that I am noticing just how much we actually DO that may have been missed before or at best, rushed. This month alone we have been away for a week, been to the Power House Museum and taken a friend for DD, been to the pool a number of times, DD has been to the movies, had playdates, we are cat-sitting - something I would never have done before for various reasons but mostly because I would have had to move mountains to fit in a cat. I can call the electrician and the plumber, both of which have been here several times this past week, and I don't have to worry that they can't access whatever it is they need to work on. There's no major junk hanging around because I'm decluttering as I go each day or two rather than bulking it up for one big to do list in the holidays the result of which means I don't do things with DD because I have to get to the jobs first. Well DD and I feel like this has been our best Summer holidays, ever! We know because it is written on our calendar to remind us.

Ahh, feel the serenity! Whilst not 100% there yet, even 60% feels like freedom. I thought I had freedom by not sticking to boring routines. But that freedom was hidden behind adrenaline rushes, tears when I couldn't reach a deadline at work, embarrassment turning up for social engagements or work with hair long overdue for a cut, clothes un-ironed, events missed because I just couldn't conjure up the energy to get everything done and have fun at the last-minute. Only now does the freedom really feel like it is freeing. I don't have the weight of all those jobs I haven't done filling my mind, the mess I have to clean up before I can invite someone over, the piling of dishes, washing and to do lists.

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to do.

Congratulations Clutterhen! To read more from her, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Lin's Garden Diary

Firstly, I have to confess I've been naughty these holidays. Ignoring my garden's pleas for attention. I blame it on the hordes of visitors, but even though I have done nothing, it is still giving us food.

Countless times these holidays we have pulled out scrumptious fresh vegies for our dinner:- beetroots, carrots, loads of corn, masses of cherry tomatoes and baby spuds to impress our guests!

Together we crunched on our sweet 'raw' beetroot salad. Yes, raw beetroot. It is so tasty! And, very good for you!

Our garden has been so well behaved, it has even been giving us more food then we can eat. So my son and I started selling it to our neighbours. Sebastian (6) and I walked around tonight offering 10 cherry tomatoes and a FREE cob of corn or carrot for just $2.00! When we came home he proudly showed off his hard earned money! I was so proud of him as he had knocked on each door, introduced himself and offered each person his 'special deal' from his own garden!

Here are some other great tips I wanted to share with you:

If your tomatoes are going yellow near the base, then pick them off! This will allow the sun in and helps to ripen the fruit!
Grow mint and be rid of flies! Plant some mint in a pot or somewhere on its own otherwise it will spread like mad and take over your garden. We received a fantastic hint from a member recently to say that mint helps keep the flies away! I tried it and it works! You need to crush the leaves slightly, but they do the trick!
Grow and 'gift' your own edible bouquet! A friend of mine recently opened an organic shop and I have bought several of her 'edible bouquets'. Her bouquets included calendulas, nasturtiums, lavender flowers, mint, oregano, beetroot leaf and rosemary. Bunch them together and tie with raw string - just beautiful!
Get planning for winter now! Now is a good time to sow things like broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower.

I wanted to share one last thing with you! This week we saved a total of $22 from picking vegies from our own garden. Multiply that by 52 weeks and that's $1144 in one year! Once we become fully self-sufficient, including growing our own fruit trees, we have the potential to save approximately $3000-$4000 a year! Now that's motivating!

6. Best of the Forum: No Spend, No Worries

Why not kickstart your Simple Savings year with our No Spend Month. This is a superb challenge especially for anyone still struggling with Christmas over-indulgence and debt. If it's not essential, don't buy it - no worries. Get the whole family involved and see how much you can save in just 29 short days!

Making a guide for the No-Spend Challenge

Fiona put this essential guide together last year for anyone who may need some help with tackling this month's Challenge. It's a great tool to help keep you motivated and on track.
read more...

No spend year 2012

Starting the year off with a BIG bang is SalliMumof3 - going in, boots and all with a full No Spend year. Why not follow her inspiring thread and perhaps even her lead. Your wallet will soon reap the rewards.
read more...

...and here is Part Two

No Spend 2012 - Recipes

Here's the place to get all the inspiration you need to whip up a storm in the kitchen when you are watching the pennies. Thanks so much Claire M. for helpfully putting all these excellent links in one place.
read more...

No spend/low spend challenge part 6

If you are a newcomer to No Spend Month have a browse through this encouraging thread which has been going on for all of 2011. Read how these members live the good life on limited funds.
read more...

How many no spend days a week?

Keeping the No Spend idea running all year round is an austerity measure many of our members aspire to. Here are some handy ways you can keep up the momentum.
read more...

7. Best of the Vault: Super Saving Season

Are you ready for this month's Super Saving Season? Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is not to spend a single cent unless absolutely necessary. And we don't mean mission impossible! Why not take your inspiration from our clever members.

Enjoy a friend's company without spending

To take your mind off going shopping and spending, organise for a friend to come around for coffee instead. It's a great way to catch up with each other and enjoy someone else's company - no spending necessary! You could also alternate between them coming over or you going to their place, then you are still going on an outing!

Contributed by: Toni

No Spend Month every three months

I have come up with a system that gives me a No Spend Month every three months! With just me at home I had become lazy with my grocery shopping; in fact I was grabbing takeaway or eating just a sandwich and was making myself ill from not eating properly. I discovered a weekly menu, complete with shopping list in a magazine. So I crossed off what I didn't like and headed for the supermarket. It was not until I was on my way home that this aged brain suddenly realised I had bought enough ingredients for four of each meal. Out of stupidity and lack of thought I had actually hit on a winner. The next few nights I cooked the meals, made one serving for me and froze the rest in meal lots. Over the next few weeks I added to my meal list and ended up with a variety of meals from which to choose, plus I saved myself literally hundreds of dollars by stopping panic buying and takeaways. And of course I was at last eating in a healthy way. Every three months I have enough meals to last me for the entire month, plus I can feed any unexpected visitors. I have made sure that it does not become boring and have now incorporated the same system into work lunches and every now and then breakfasts. So, all in all the old girl has now become this very budget conscious, gourmet cook and I have to admit it has become a real sense of achievement. Money is still tight, but I am not being strangled by the lack of it anymore.

Contributed by: Lynn Earley

No car will drive up savings during No Spend Month

For No Spend Month this February why not pretend you don't have a car for the month? (You could actually disconnect the battery if you have to.) This will make you stay away from the shops unless absolutely necessary, saving you extra time to cook meals from scratch and start projects you have been putting off. Plus it will really force you to learn to be resourceful with what you have. Also, turn off commercial television so as not to let yourself be bombarded with ads encouraging you to buy things you don't really need. Watch commercial-free stations instead or have a mammoth month of DVD fun - they are free at the library.

Contributed by: Ruth Kenrick-smith

No Spend Month pays for family holiday

Our No Spend Month paid for our family holiday! Recently, we were lucky enough to obtain $9 each way flights from Newcastle to Melbourne for our family of five. As this was an impulse/unplanned short holiday and money was tight that month, we decided as a family to do a couple of $21 Challenges. Worried this still wouldn't be enough and concerned about the children's ever increasing 'NEEDS', we also decided to have a month where we only spent money on actual needs, not wants. The 'No Spend' challenge was a real eye opener for my seven, eight and 10-year-old daughters and was definitely NEEDED (no pun intended!). Basically, anything we were going to spend money on (including the groceries) was debated. During the month I needed foundation and my girls decided this was a WANT but I said it was a NEED because I needed to wear make-up to work. In the end, the girls found all the foundation samples and little bits of foundation leftovers and I had enough to get me through. My 10-year-old actually said foundation should be a business decision because it was work related. So we made a third category - business/money earning. It was fun to debate buying things and I think I struggled more than anyone else! Like the time I was caffeine deprived and tired one afternoon while we were out and I said I NEEDED a coffee. Miss 10 replied, 'Mum, that is actually a WANT. It's just that you want it so bad you've convinced yourself it is a NEED!' The reward for the challenge was we were able to pay for our trip with the money we saved and the girls saved over $180 between them to use as spending money (this included all pocket money and proceeds from a garage sale where they sold a few toys and so on). Funnily enough, it was really hard for them to spend that money! We were really in the habit of analysing spending by that stage. So they ended up coming home with $130 which is now in their bank account. The $50 they did end up spending was well spent! We were at St. Kilda wharf deliberating about the penguin cruises and thinking that $200 for the family just wasn't do-able - when the captain of one of the boats approached us. He had just had a bus load of tourists cancel and offered us the trip for the entire family for $50 including wine and nibbles! Even better was that after it finished they were heading back to Melbourne and they let us stay on the boat, so we ended up cruising under the bridge at night and into Melbourne as a bonus!

Contributed by: Mystery Case

Tips for No Spend Month

During a No Spend Month, team up with a like-minded buddy or family member to alleviate any unnecessary spending. There are so many things you can do in partnership, or on your own, including: 1. Raid each other's pantry rather than make a trip to the shops. 2. When heading out to run errands, make one trip for both buddies/families. 3. Pay bills online 4. Raid each other's cupboards or gardens before buying gifts. 5. Cancel the lawn-mowing for the month. 6. When cooking, cook surplus and deliver to your buddy/family. 7. Make greeting cards from household materials including card and glitter. Use downloadable images too. As you've seen, no spend is no problem!

Contributed by: Catherine Stevens

Extra tips for Vault members

Here are some bonus tips especially for you, our lovely, loyal members. Thanks so much for your continued support of Simple Savings.

Make non-spending a habit Contributed by: Jan Dooley

Free samples save No Spend Contributed by: Tania O

No spend days help seek out free pastimes Contributed by: Sue Allen

No more expensive snacks Contributed by: Linda Shehan

New hobbies leave less time for spending Contributed by: Gina Harris

8. Cooking with Mimi: Back to School Lunch Boxes

It's back to school time and the cupboard is bare.

Well that's how it always is for me.

The last week of the holidays is spent labelling uniforms, shopping for overpriced black school shoes and covering books. Somewhere along the way the hours in the day or the money in the bank seems inadequate when it comes to actually doing the grocery shopping!

So this month I've got two recipes for you that require very little in the way of ingredients, but carry maximum school yard brownie points. These completely irresistible little cakes are so much fun. They don't need icing and use up odd bits and pieces of tinned, dried or fresh fruit in quick smart, tasty fashion.

Mini Fruity Upside Down Cakes

Equipment:

1 x 12 hole muffin pan
12 large muffin papers
Mixing bowl
Electric beaters or wooden spoon and muscle power
Tablespoon
Measuring cups
2 x dessertspoons
Knife
Cooling racks or a cleared space on your bench to cool your cakes
Foil

Ingredients:

Makes 12 muffin-sized upside down cakes
3 tbsp finely diced fruit or dried fruit
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp neutral flavoured oil like extra light olive oil or vegetable oil
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
Cooking spray

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 180C.

Check that your fruit pieces are of a uniform size. I slice my tinned pineapple pieces in three so they are nice and thin.

Line your muffin pan with the muffin papers and spray the base of the papers liberally with cooking spray.

Lay your fruit pieces in a decorative pattern in the bottom of your muffin papers. This is a great task for the kids and they'll adore making little flowers or faces with different coloured pieces of fruit. Currants can be eyes, bits of glace cherry make great smiles, dried cranberries and pineapple pieces make pretty flowers. Sprinkle enough brown sugar over each one to cover your fruit art, then drizzle with your oil.

Place your butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla in your mixing bowl.

Beat it for about two minutes with your electric beaters or wooden spoon and muscles.

Combine flour and baking powder and fold into cake batter.

Spoon a dessertspoonful of mixture on top of your sugary fruity bases and smooth with your knife.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they feel firm when lightly touched in the centre.

Rest in tin for five minutes before inverting onto racks or your bench.

Now the fun part. Call your children in and show them how, with a flick of the wrist, a perfectly normal looking cupcake becomes designer art when you peel off the papers! Clever!

Remove the cakes from their muffin papers and wrap them well in foil to freeze them, and add to lunch boxes as a special surprise. Much more spesh than a pink cupcake!

Popcorn is yet another brilliant, cost effective and super healthy school lunch snack.

But don't go buying it in ready-made snack packs that were popped three months ago. And don't waste your money on the stuff in the ready-to-pop bags. Who needs to pay two bucks for someone else's paper bag?

Pop your own the old fashioned way, as you need it and spice it up with yummy home-made taco seasoning. It costs less than one tenth what you pay for either pre-packed lunch box snack popcorn or the ready-to-pop popcorn and takes just minutes to prepare.

Real Home-Made Popcorn

Makes about 12 batches of 4 serves per 375g packet of popping corn (about $0.02c per serve and nearly 50 lunch box serves per packet).

Equipment:

Large saucepan with lid
Large mixing bowl
Cellophane party bags, resealable bags or containers with lids
Small bowl
Teaspoon
Large serving spoon

Ingredients:

2 tbsp popping corn. You want the stuff that comes in a 375g bag, NOT the pre-packaged buttered popcorn-ready-to-pop.
1 level tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander, smokey paprika and garlic granules or garlic salt
1/2 tsp table salt (optional)
1/4 tsp chilli powder (optional)
1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Add all of your spices to the small bowl and stir well with your teaspoon to combine.

Place your saucepan over medium high heat and add your oil.

Drop a single corn kernel into your oil. When it starts to sizzle at the edges, your oil is the right temperature for popping.

Add your corn kernels to the hot oil and cover firmly with your lid.

Within ten seconds you'll start to hear the familiar sound of popping corn.

Shake your saucepan every fifteen seconds or so to ensure your yummy popcorn doesn't scorch. It shouldn't take more than 60-90 seconds to pop this amount of kernels.

When the popping reduces to less than one every two seconds, you're done.

Tip your popped corn into your large bowl. Note that you'll always have some unpopped kernels. They're just duds, so discard them.

Now, because you've used a small amount of oil to pop your corn, you should have a light coating on your popped corn. This will help the seasoning to adhere to the popcorn. Scatter your seasoning over your popcorn and stir well with your serving spoon, ensuring that your fluffy little morsels are well coated. If necessary, a light spray of any sort of cooking oil will help the flavour stick.

In our house, this is about four school lunch serves, and is certainly equivalent to what you'd get in a pre-packaged snack. So now's the time to line up your cellophane bags, resealable bags or airtight snack boxes and equally divide the popcorn between them.

A really good trick and a way of making your snacks look 'store bought' is to fold down the excess at the top of the cellophane bags, cover with a cloth, and iron with a hot iron for around 20 seconds. This 'seals' the bag, just like the real deal.

Once you've got this method under your belt, feel free to use any kind of seasoning or spices you like. Try chicken seasoning, chicken stock cubes and curry powder, drinking chocolate or salt and pepper.

Yum!

School newsletter worthy lunch boxes coming up!

9. Penny's Blog: Lime and Soda

January 29th

Have you any idea how many times I have tried to write this blog? Over the years, a lot. It's not going to be an easy one for me to write and who knows, maybe it won't be an easy one to read. But I'm glad I have waited until now to share it because a) it's only now that it has a happy ending and b) it just might help somebody else.

To start with the traditional cliché, 'My name's Penny and -' OK, I'm not an alcoholic. But for years I have drunk way too much. I've known it and I've hated it but have never been able to beat it. Almost everybody has some sort of vice; some evil nemesis and for me it's the booze. I've written blogs about it before over the years, gleefully announcing 'I've quit!' and managing to last a whole two days before succumbing to the lure of an ice-cold bottle of Chardonnay. But not anymore. Like with giving up anything I guess the timing has to be right. Either that or you hit rock bottom, which is what I did.

Let me take you back a few years (OK, more than a few!) to when I was 17. I was already a heavy drinker - perhaps that's a slight understatement. Like many teenagers I would raid my parents' booze cupboard but unlike most teens I also used to hide bottles of wine in my knee-high boots in my wardrobe and carried a hip flask at all times, even in my school bag. I had a two-litre bottle of orange juice in the fridge at home but Mum and Dad didn't know half of it was vodka. I was rarely rolling drunk; just in a permanent state of never quite being 'all there'. To be honest I never knew why I did it - I didn't do it to try to be cool. I didn't have a traumatic childhood, quite the contrary. I simply liked the stuff.

At first my friends thought it was funny - particularly the day I sank a bottle of wine before school and had to stagger my way up the school bus and be helped into my seat. But drinking on your own isn't cool and before too long they were grabbing my hip flask or whatever bottle I happened to have on me and tipping it down the sink. They were worried sick about me but I didn't care. I must have been a right royal pain in the bum and I consider myself very lucky not to have lost those friends. I'm still in touch with each and every one of them after all these years but I know how close I came to losing them.

I wasn't so lucky with everyone though. When I was 18 I fell head over heels for a chap called Garry. I thought my sparkling personality was enough to keep him but he didn't want a drunk for a girlfriend and I got a heck of a fright when he dumped me. After a week of grieving and worrying the heck out of my mum by not eating I somehow ended up sobbing in my dad's lap confessing all. My dad bless him, didn't bat an eyelid. He just told me 'it's alright mate, we'll fix it'. And he did. Before I knew it my mum had poured out my troubles to our GP. He didn't think I was an alcoholic - but he did think I needed a good fright.

So before I knew it I was making a daily trip to Eastleigh Ward - a centre for people with drinking problems. I did this every day for six months. There I became part of a big family of wonderful people, all of whom just happened to be ruining their lives with alcohol. There was Peter H, a successful graphic designer whose downward spiral began when he started drinking G & T's with his colleagues on the train at 8 o'clock every morning. There was Mick, a 23-year-old train driver who had been sent there by a magistrate after being caught driving his train drunk. He had no intention of giving up and thought the whole thing was just a big joke. There was Craig, who was younger than me and as brash as they come, with a heart of gold. Unfortunately he was so hell bent on getting his hands on alcohol he had even been known to drink aftershave. Phil was a jovial man in his 50's who, unlike the others who all had broken marriages as a result of their drinking, had the support of his loving wife. Unfortunately he also had cirrhosis of the liver and his blood was so badly poisoned you could see every pore showing purple against his yellow skin. Saddest of all was Peter A, a lovely old chap in his seventies whose daughter had banned him from seeing his grandchildren. His tears at not being able to see them broke my heart - but he still just could not give up drinking. In fact, he had been to the centre so many times that he had been told there was nothing more that could be done for him.

Everyone there had lost someone dear to them as a result of their drinking. Wives, girlfriends, children, grandchildren. I became fond of them all and during the six months I was there I didn't drink a drop. Next to them I felt strong. I was also lucky enough to have youth on my side. I still think of them and wonder what they are doing now but if I am truly honest with myself they are probably almost all long gone.

Just a few months after that I met Noel. Ironically he was the barman in my local pub! But by then all I would drink was lime and soda. At only 25p a glass I was a cheap date! However, the landlord still felt it necessary to warn Noel. 'You want to watch that one, she's got a problem with the bottle,' he said knowingly. 'I'll be the judge of that,' came Noel's reply. We never really talked about it and to this day, I've never talked to anyone about it other than my parents - well and now you. He just told me he wouldn't 'take any crap' and I knew he meant it. That was enough.

When I was at Eastleigh Ward they told me I wouldn't be able to drink again but when you're only 18 that sounds like a very long time. After all, I had only just reached the legal age limit! Still, for several years I didn't touch a drop. For starters the budget didn't allow it. But as time went by I started having a glass of wine on special occasions and holidays and once the kids came along and we started to earn more it started making an appearance in our weekly groceries. And that's how it's been ever since. The only difference this time around was that drinking wasn't an addiction; it was nothing more than a habit. A big, expensive, fattening habit.

But still a harmful habit nonetheless. I knew I drank too much to start with but when you have glandular fever for months without knowing, are training for a marathon and lose 20kg in less than 12 months your tolerance for alcohol goes down. In my case it went down to pretty much zero. The crunch time for me came on January 2nd when we had a guest for dinner who I had never met before. A pleasant and interesting chap, I had just ONE glass of wine whilst preparing dinner and realised to my horror that I was slurring my words. No matter how hard I tried to engage in scintillating conversation I just couldn't get the words out properly and I could see this guy looking at me thinking 'what is her problem?' That was it. No more booze for Penny.

I haven't touched another drop since and that was 28 days ago. I know in my heart that this time I have finally cracked it. I don't need it, I don't want it and I sure as hell don't miss it. I don't miss the arguments I had with Noel at night because a few wines made me say things I would never normally say. I don't miss the memory loss, forgetting things I had promised loved ones or checking texts and emails the next day to remind myself what I said and hoping and praying it wasn't anything too bad. I don't miss the 3kg I lost in two weeks through not consuming all the extra calories. I don't miss the hideous amount I spent on wine and cider every week.

Instead I am relishing my freedom. I am relishing waking up not hating myself for drinking too much AGAIN, which I have done for as long as I can remember. I am relishing sleeping like a log every night instead of waking up religiously at 2.30am and laying awake beating myself up. I never realised it was alcohol which was ruining my sleep but yep, it was. Better still, I'm not waking Noel up with my tossing and turning any more either so he's happy too! I am relishing being everyone's sober driver and hearing about everyone else's hangovers. I am relishing the weight I have lost through no longer pigging out at night simply because I've had a few drinks. I am relishing the fun nights I am spending with my children making muffins or watching stingrays at the wharf instead of blobbing out in front of the TV with a glass of wine, or not being able to drive them anywhere because I'm over the limit. No more drunken arguments, no more memory loss. Admittedly I think my karaoke performance is suffering without the help of a little Dutch courage but what the heck, it's a small price to pay. From now on it's just freedom - and an extra $3000 a year in the bank. I'm back on the lime and soda and that's how it's going to stay!

January 2012

10th - All the small things

10. Homeopathy Corner: Long Term Savings

This month Fran is comparing the cost and the outcomes of long term homeopathic treatment versus mainstream medicine. It is a very interesting read! To read Fran's article go to:- homeopathyplus.com.au/what-do-patients-think-of-homeopathy

11. From Last Month: Healthy Lunch Box Options

Last month Christine asked:

Woah! We've been snowed under with replies for Christine! Thank you to everyone who responded with helpful suggestions. Unfortunately we can't print them all but here is a small selection of some of the many we received.

Nothing boring about this lunch box!

A healthy lunch box doesn't have to be a boring one. Quite often we pack a tin of tuna and some rice crackers. Pick a variety in spring water, not oil, and if they can't manage opening a tin, prepack it into a small container at home. Create a dried fruit mix of apple, sultana and a few nuts or try threading watermelon, rock melon, kiwi fruit and mango onto Paddle Pop sticks. Yum!

Contributed by: Sharon Blanck

School lunch ready in 20 seconds

The easiest way I can think of meeting this challenge is to get your girls to decide what they want from a list of options you provide for them. They are more likely to eat food they have chosen themselves. Personally I make a week's sandwiches (with fillings chosen by my kids) and freeze them Sunday night. I know this is cooking but I bake a batch of cupcakes (in which I sneak some wheat germ) and freeze those too. I have included the recipe below. In the mornings I can just grab a sandwich, a cake and a couple of pieces of fruit and I'm done. A school lunch ready in 20 seconds!

Easy lunch box cupcakes

Makes approximately 12 large and 12 mini cakes.

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Mix 1 3/4 cups SR flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup wheat germ (or bran cereal or oats, whatever you have) and 1/3 cup of cocoa together in a bowl.

Add 125g melted butter and 1 cup of milk and mix well.

Add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Line 2 muffin tins (one normal size, one mini) with patty cases (makes for easier lunch box travel).

Add 1/4 cup of the mixture to each large case and spoon the remaining mixture in the smaller patty cases.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, taking out the smaller ones after around 15 minutes.

Cool and freeze.

Contributed by: Olivia de Bruyn

Turn fruit into a treat

Fruit is always a good choice in summer; there are so many fresh options available. Fruit that my kids see as 'treats' include strawberries, blueberries, grapes, mango, pineapple and melon chunks. Chop up and include a small plastic fork if that makes it more palatable, or make up a yoghurt dip (assuming you have an insulated lunch bag and can insert an ice pack). In winter when there's not so much choice available, try a small container of tinned fruit in natural juice, not syrup.

Contributed by: Georgina Ker

Easy-care fruit and vegies

Well done on facing up to your weight issues and tackling them head on. Nothing is better than a healthy lunch box! Here's my tip. Firstly aim to go to an independent fruit and vegie shop - I avoid the supermarket so I'm not tempted to trek down the junk food aisles! I purchase bags of carrots, apples, oranges, pears, peaches, nectarines, bananas, capsicum, celery, beans, cherry tomatoes, apricots and so on. My main idea is to get 5-7 portions of everything depending on price and what's in season.

When I bring home my fruit and vegies, I wash everything, peel/cut up the carrots and celery, then divide it all up into portions and then pop them into lunch boxes or plastic bags. The idea is that you then have 3-4 different types of fruit and 2-3 types of veg in each lunch box. You can put in as much as you like. I find that when the kids are at school they will eat what's given to them because they are hungry. You can do as many lunch boxes as you can fit in your fridge!

Contributed by: Barb Mackay

Yummy pita chips cost a pittance

Our healthy version of 'chips' comes thanks to the wonderful Italian mums in my youngest daughter's class. You need:

1 bag wholemeal mini pita pockets
Olive oil
Italian herbs
Salt and pepper

Cut the pita pockets into eighths and spread evenly over an oven tray. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil evenly over the top of the cut pita eighths. Sprinkle with Italian herbs and some salt and pepper. Bake at 180C until crisp, turning once or twice. Cool and store in an air tight container.

These are a healthier and cheaper option to the traditional salted packet snacks. My daughter likes them so much that she says she wouldn't swap them for store-bought packets but the other kids are always trying to swap with her! We sometimes pair these with home-made dips such as hummus (see taste.com for a great recipe).

Pita pockets cost about $1.50 for a packet, which last about a week for a child. I don't know how much store-bought chips cost for a week's supply because I don't buy them but I definitely save in salt and fat intake for my children and I.

Contributed by: Christina Demers

Wrap up those leftovers

My daughter is seven years old and literally begs for a mountain bread wrap for her lunch box! We grate some carrot and cheese, add avocado and hummus, and any other vegies she asks for. We found that we had to roll it up properly, or it would fall apart by the time she got to school, but she loves them. It also helps us with using up the bits and pieces that are in the fridge. Another hit has been unsweetened yoghurt (you can make your own or buy it) with fruit. Slightly overripe fruit that would otherwise probably be chucked out seems to work well for this and you can add a teaspoon of sugar or honey if you want - it will still have far less sugar than most commercial fruit yoghurts! As a treat, we sometimes put in frozen raspberries. Yum! We have been really lucky with our kids' school as they have a no junk food policy so the kids swapping healthy food for junk has not really been an issue. Maybe it is worthwhile talking to the school about how they can help out with this.

Contributed by: Kate Baldry

Frozen yoghurt makes a cool treat

One idea I can recommend for healthy lunch boxes is to buy small tubs of yoghurt when on special or close to expiry date. I buy these and freeze them. They are fabulous for lunches as they can be thawed by lunch or are like eating ice cream if refrigerated! Choose 'lite' yoghurts for an even healthier option.

Contributed by: Tony Tuder

'Dippy' lunch boxes are a big hit

My kids love to 'dip' food, so I give them carrot sticks, rice crackers or light cheese to dip in home-made hummus or other low-fat dips I pick up on special. They always get eaten and asked for again!

Contributed by: Samantha Singleton

Home-made fruit leathers

We like to make 'fruit leathers'. It does involve cooking initially, although there are non-cook versions where you just puree the fruit then spread it thinly on non-stick paper and into a low oven or even better, into the sunshine to dry (unless you have a food dehydrator). The leather keeps for months and you can cut it into small strips for lunch box fillers. This is so good that your girls will not be swapping it for anything!

Contributed by: Cindy Zaitsoff

Lettuce cup salad wraps

My daughter loves to take salad to school. For a yummy alternative we wrap it in a lettuce cup. They are delicious and kids love them but don't forget the cold pack to keep everything nice and fresh or they won't eat it!

Contributed by: Joanne Cook

Delicious bulk snack mix

We make up a big batch of snack mix and keep it in the cupboard. You get a big bowl and add anything like sultanas, dried fruits, cereals like Nutrigrain, pretzels, mini mallows, chocolate chips and nuts. Although there are a few sweet things in there, it's only a small amount - just enough to keep the kids interested!

Contributed by: Michelle Garfield

Helpful website

Several years ago I did a Family Food Patch course, which is a course centred on the idea of nutrition, exercise and children. It was interesting and insightful. Their website is www.familyfoodpatch.org.au - well worth a visit!

Contributed by: Robyn Howard

The good, the bad and the green

I have one child who loves everything healthy and one who runs at the sight of anything green! Try these for a different lunch idea.

1) Cruskits - with light cream cheese, ham, tomato or tuna, cucumber, the list goes on - very yummy and the cream cheese makes it taste more sinful than it is.

2) Fruit muffins - you can make them with gluten-free flour or protein powder instead of flour to lower the content of fat and calories and make it low G.I.

3) Two-minute noodle pancakes! These can be eaten cold with sauce. This basic pancake recipe uses one small can of creamed corn, one cooked packet of two minute noodles and as many grated vegies you can cram in. Mix all together and cook like normal pancakes. A great alternative which tastes great hot or cold

Have a pantry clean out - you never know what helpful items you will find! My son who does not eat anything green except lettuce or green apples is starting to get chubby, and someone told me to get rid of any junk food in the house. They will soon find alternatives to prevent starving. My son's school lunch used to consist of jam sandwiches, juice, apple, chocolate yoghurt and so forth. Sugar, sugar and more sugar. Two weeks ago, however, I cleaned out everything chocolate and sweet related. My son has now decided he wants Vegemite cruskits for lunch, green apple, juice and muffins - a much better alternative! Whilst it means the whole family goes without as well, is that such a bad thing?

Contributed by: Amelia Sutcliffe

Let the kids choose

One thing that I learned while working in a school was, 'if the children make the decision, then it will be better or harsher than you would have and they will stick to it as they made that decision.' What I am trying to say is - get the girls to help you choose what goes into their snacks and they also help make them. That makes it harder for them to grumble that you have stinted them.

Set the ground rules, for example, they can only buy within your guidelines. So you will choose the bigger list of good foods, then the girls will decide what they want from there. You have dried fruits, fresh fruits, canned fruits, muffins and slices just to name a few.

Mix them up so that they are not having the same thing every day. Maybe the girls can choose one or two each per week. That will give you plenty to work on but not so many that it is hard to do. Then the next week (or fortnight) you plan another lot to make or make up, whichever suits your lifestyle best.

If they like dried fruit then you could buy bulk packs of apple, mango and banana chips or any others that they like. Then package them into reusable bags. I use Tupperware/Decor containers for fresh or canned fruit.

I like to make two different types of bags/containers - one for morning tea time and one for afternoon tea time (or after school treat time). Sometimes I swap the snack packs around so that nobody knows what they are to eat. This can be fun as you don't know whether to look forward to a mixed fruit pack or a muffin. This can be part of the fun when you have made up two or more different snack packs.

Also, there are a lot of lovely fattening looking low-fat cakes, muffins and slices in the Simply Too Good To Be True cookbooks and there are now six books to choose from. See www.symplytoogood.com.au for the books or your local newsagent. There is even a 'Wicked Chocolate Cake' in Book 2. My kids love the jam drops!

Contributed by: Patricia Parkin

Take a novel approach

Download a photo or two of children with really, really bad teeth and explain that it goes from the teeth down and is very, very painful, if they don't CHOOSE to eat more healthily. Go through the fruit and vegie aisles with your girls and get them to pick out healthy stuff they love. Beware of the salted nuts on offer.

Tell them they can pick their fruit but not their lollies. Get the best that you can afford - it pays off in terms of less doctor visits, less hospital visits, down time for you from any job you might have, school time for the children, fuel getting there, disruption to your lives and so on.

Try new fruit - ask one of the staff if you can. That's how I was introduced to achachas. Delicious!

Get a water filter for your tap and let them choose their own drink bottle. Get THEM to write on their bottles in permanent marker, 'WATER ONLY'.

Go to such websites as Diabetes Australia and either ask there or see if there are any suggestions made.

Hope these ideas work for you. Remember - you are only limited by your imagination!

Contributed by: Leonie Edge

Bonus hints for Vault members:

Healthy no-cook lunch box brownie Contributed by: Holly H

Secrets of a healthy, happy lunchbox Contributed by: Lyn B

Treat the kids to healthy 'Rainbow Rolls' Contributed by: HappyHappyJoyJoy

Healthy lunchbox tips from the naturopath Contributed by: Yolande M

Make lunchbox food fun Contributed by: Margie

Weight Watchers can help kids too Contributed by: Fiona D

Bargain with your kids for healthier lunches Contributed by: Leanne M

12. This Month's Help Request: Radishes!

This month Michelle Obama asks:

"I'm having real trouble with my organic vegetable garden. The secret service agents keep digging it up and planting listening devices in my radishes. Does anyone know how I can fix this?"

If you have any tips which can help Michelle, please send them in to us here.

Ahem, you may have guessed we didn't have a good help request for this month's newsletter! So if there is something you would like help with, please send us your help requests!

13. Savings Story: $21 Challenge Wake Up!

I had been thinking about buying The $21 Challenge ever since I heard about it, so when I renewed my subscription to Simple Savings recently I took the opportunity to buy a discounted copy (clever marketing!). Much to my surprise it arrived within a few days so I have been busily reading and am now up to the recipe section. At first I was thinking I didn't have time to do a full stock take of all our food, especially as I 'knew' what we had anyway, but thought this morning that I would at least have a quick look in our pantry. What a shock! So far I have only looked at 1 1/2 shelves but I was amazed at what was hiding in the back!

To put things in perspective, we have two adults and a one year old in our house. A quick scan showed we have five cans of baked beans, some creamed corn, three pasta bakes, several bags of pasta and rice noodles, and six different packets of breakfast cereals (several are open as I often mix a few together, but I think we possibly don't need all of them at one time...). Even more embarrassing is the fact that Corn Flakes were on my shopping list for this week - needless to say I crossed them off! I shudder to think how much food we have stored away in our pantry, fridge and upright freezer.

If I am to be honest with myself, I suspect we shouldn't have to buy anything other than milk, vegies and fruit for several weeks if we were to get serious. Yikes! I thought I was a fairly sensible shopper, not buying too much junk food or wasting too much, but I have to realise the food is still being wasted if it is lurking unseen and uneaten for months until it eventually expires. I like to have things 'just in case' but it's time to get real!

Although I don't think I am quite brave enough to go for it and try the Challenge this week (I still have a lot of stocktaking to do - and realistically I am not going to get it all done today as there are other more urgent jobs that need doing), reading the start of the book has certainly made me stop and think about what I am doing. The $21 Challenge is based on such a simple idea that I almost feel silly. Then I realise that presumably I am not alone in being oblivious to what I am buying - otherwise we wouldn't need the book or indeed the SS website. The tips and ideas on this website and in the book are such simple, sensible ideas, but they are slowly making a huge difference to my outlook and life as I explore my spending habits.

Contributed by: Pony

14. So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Wow! Didn't we manage to cram a whole bunch of money saving ideas into this month's newsletter? I hope you really enjoyed it and have been inspired to try something new.

Best of luck with your No Spend Challenge. We look forward to seeing you next month!

All the best,
Fiona

January 2014 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - January 2014

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Bring on the Bargains!
January: Get into Gear!
Ye Olde Shoppe: Simply Budgets Make it Simple
Penny Wise: What Are You So Afraid Of?
Best of the Vault: Hello 2014!
Best of the Forum: May the Forum Be With You!
Best Members' Blog: Loving My New Simple Life
Cooking with Mimi: Golden Dream (Vanilla + Orange) Cheesecake
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Air Pruning Barrel for Trees
From Last Month: Christmas Sales Savvy!
This Month's Help Request: Party Time!

Hello,

Happy 2014! How are you going? We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and started the New Year with a bang - we can't wait to see what 2014 brings!

We love hearing from you - here are our favourite emails this month:

"Thank you for your fantastic newsletters. My Christmas present this year was a Vault membership for myself! I am loving the Forum and dipping into the hints." (Val)

"Please thank Mimi for her decadent coconut ice recipe in the December newsletter. It made a very special Christmas present for a lot of my friends and family who couldn't quite believe I made it. Thanks Mimi." (Bree)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. If all goes well, we'll be showing a great, funny, slightly scary (for me) way to save money on haircuts at the end of January. Keep your fingers and toes crossed.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Bring on the Bargains!

"I'm so looking forward to this! Thanks for keeping me company, Sal!" beamed Chloe excitedly as they got into the car. "You're welcome!" smiled Sally. "That's all I'm doing, mind! I won't be doing any shopping myself; I've got to be REALLY good this year if we're going to make any headway on our mortgage. But I'm happy to come and help you find the best deals - any idea what you want to buy?" "Not really," giggled Chloe, "but I'm sure I'll find something. You can't beat the January sales for a bargain and I don't want to miss out. Let's go!"

"Do you mind if we grab a quick coffee? My feet are killing me!" groaned Sally four hours later. "Of course! It's been such fun - I'm so happy with all my bargains!" Chloe smiled, laden with bags. "I could never have found all these without you, Sal; you know just where to look!" "Years of practice," grinned Sally. "You've been so good though - you haven't spent a cent!" Chloe pointed out. "I just want to pop into Henry Newman's before we go if that's OK. Last one, I promise!" "Come on then," groaned Sally, rubbing her feet. "I think I can manage ONE more!"

"Wow, these deals are unbelievable!" gasped Chloe as the pair of them wandered round Henry Newman's. Sally nodded. 50% off this, 40% off that - and no need to pay until February! Come to think of it there WERE a few things she needed. The vacuum cleaner had been playing up, she could do with a new phone - and that pink hair straightener she'd been wanting forever was a ridiculous price! By the time the pair of them left the store, Sally was carrying as many bags as her friend. "That was brilliant!" she said. "And we didn't even pay for a single thing!" "We do still have to pay for them though," pointed out Chloe. "Yes - but not until February," came Sally's laughing reply. "That's AGES away!"

2. January: Get into Gear!

Sally may not have to pay for her goodies until February - but does she even know for certain she will have the money to pay for them then? If her past form is anything to go by, we seriously doubt it! But that's not the only concern. In addition to paying for her splurge, she and Pete have a goal this year to reduce the size of their debt. The thing is, how do you know what you shouldn't spend if you don't know how much you have to start with?

Many people shop blindly like Sally. They see money in their bank account and think 'Yay, that's mine! I can spend that!' But if you're serious about getting/staying out of debt and reaching your savings goals, you need to know exactly where your finances are at. You need to know to the nearest few dollars what you can and can't spend. You need a budget.

The theme of our 2014 Wealthy Habits calendar is 'Show Us the Money!' and right here is where it starts. We want you to be able to see the results of your efforts at the end of the year and say 'Look at what we achieved! We did that!' But in order for you to be able to do that you need to work out where you are financially right now and that is what Get into Gear Month is all about. This month is for determining how much money you have and how much you need to get where you want to be. Trust us, it's easy! All you need to do is a little homework. It doesn't take long but the results are well worth it and as soon as you have done it, you'll be glad you did.

So let's start putting some wheels in motion! We would love for you to join us in the following tasks this month:

Work out a budget. There are countless ways you can do this; there is no right or wrong way! You can use a system recommended by a friend or fellow member, you can hop on your bank's website and use their budgeting tools or you can visit our Simple Savings shop and take advantage of the brilliant Simply Budgets software we have on offer. It doesn't matter which you choose - but make sure you do it!

Open a savings account. If you don't already have one, open a bank account dedicated solely to saving. Shop around for an account with the highest interest rate that will grow your savings and with minimum fees, or better still, no fees at all!

Print out and fill in our free Bill Payment System. Technology is brilliant for showing you where your money is at but so is good old-fashioned pen and paper! With our Bill Payment System you can see exactly which bills come out on which day, so you'll always know how much money you need to have on hand from week to week. Better still, you'll never get stung with late payment fees again! You can find this in the Downloads area here.

Start keeping your Savings Diary. Right now, today! This is a brilliant free tool that you fill in at the end of each day to keep a record of how much money you spent and what it went on. Don't worry about forgetting, we can even email you a daily reminder if you like! The great thing about this diary is that it makes you accountable for every dollar you spend. It asks you to fill in how much of your daily spend went on essentials - and how much got wasted on impulse buys and rubbish. It's quite an eye opener and you may not always like what you see! But it will keep you on track as long as you use it. This is simply your own personal spending tally, we ask for no bank information whatsoever and nobody can see your diary but you. Start filling it in here.

Stick up your Save-O-Meter. You'll find this in your free 2014 Wealthy Habits Calendar. Put it up in a prominent place and fill it in as your savings grow and you get closer to your goal. It's great for keeping the younger family members on track too!

The above may all sound like a lot of work but it really isn't. They are all very, very easy and while doing a budget may be hard for some people to face, even if the results don't fill you with joy, at least you will know exactly what you need to do to get out of that hole and start moving in the right direction. Whatever your situation, even if you have a mountain of debt, getting your finances in order feels GREAT! But it doesn't end there - you need motivation to stay on track. Especially if your budget has left you a little on the depressed side! So use us this month to help keep your spirits and your savings high. If you are a Forum member, follow our Get into Gear challenge threads. We will all be there to help you, supporting, advising, (and sympathising where needed!) and cheering each other on. Simple Savings is a wonderful community of like-minded people who all genuinely want and love to see each other succeed. Join us this month and let's get into gear so we can all enjoy a fantastic and prosperous 2014!

January 2014 Calendar Challenge in the forum: Get Into Gear

3. Ye Olde Shoppe: Simply Budgets Make it Simple

If you want to create a budget that will set you up for life (we mean it!) then this is the software for you. Simply Budgets software was created by David Wright who worked out that having a budget was the first step - the second was making sure you had enough money in your account on any given day to meet all your needs. We love it and we know it works. You can find out more here.

4. Penny Wise: What Are You So Afraid Of?

Greetings! My name is Penny Wise and I have an embarrassing confession to make. I am 40 years old (for two more days). I have been a Simple Savings member for nine years - and have never, ever done a budget. Why? Two reasons really, the first being it's all just too hard. I never seemed to find (or make) the time to get all that pesky paperwork together. I don't like spreadsheets, they're too complicated (or that's the excuse I make, probably because I am rubbish at using Excel myself so have always convinced myself I don't understand them) which leads me to the next point, understanding. I failed maths twice at school, therefore I have always believed I don't 'do' number crunching and hence am far too thick to possibly understand a budget. But the main reason I have never done a budget is due to something else - fear. I am Penny, Queen of Ostriches. I don't want to know how little I have in the bank. I don't want to know where all my money has gone. I don't want to know what a rubbish job I've been doing or face all the silly mistakes I have made. I mean, who wants to be depressed? For many of us, just getting through each day is hard enough!

But you can't put off the inevitable forever. There have been many times this year I've just had to pull on my big girl Bridget Jones knickers and deal with things I haven't wanted to. Even so, I have managed to successfully put off doing a budget since I bought my house back in July. Little old me, a solo home owner! Still can't believe it! But jings, what a big commitment it is. I'm stuck with this mortgage now until I'm 70! I find that rather a daunting thought but I love my house with all my heart. It's mine - well, mine and the bank's - and I will do whatever it takes to keep up that mortgage and provide a secure roof over my boys' heads. And that means finally doing a budget.

I had planned to procrastinate for just a little longer - after all, January is Get into Gear Month on the new 2014 Simple Savings calendar. Surely I could just wait until then and get stuck in to this budgeting lark along with everyone else? Unfortunately not, according to the bank manager. I gave in the other day and went to see her to ask for an overdraft - just a small one to get me through Christmas and the next couple of months. I didn't like doing it; I hate overdrafts with a passion as from experience I have learned that once you have one, you tend to live in one. But I wanted some peace of mind, just so I could give my boys a good Christmas. Hopefully I wouldn't need to use it, but at least I had it. I didn't even expect the bank to agree to give me one but they did - although it soon became clear to both me and the manager I had some work to do. 'I've got so many bills, there's just no end to them!' I wailed. 'There's this, and that, and then this happened and I need to pay this...' 'OK so what's your income?' the bank manager smiled, preparing to punch in the figures. 'Er... not entirely sure, around this much?' I told her. 'OK - and what are your outgoings?' 'Er...' I replied. Where did I start? I had no idea! All I knew was there were heaps! 'Penny my dear, you need to do a budget,' she laughed. 'OK, I'll go away and do one and bring it back to you,' I offered. 'Not for me - for you!' the manager replied. 'You can't just keep treading water and crossing your fingers, you need to know what you're dealing with. It doesn't take long,' she said, 'just use the one on our website'. 'You have a budgeting tool on your website?' I said. I had no idea! 'Yes we do, it's as basic as it comes but it will give you an idea. Have a go, when you get home.'

So I did. And she was right; it didn't take long, even with the mountain of bills I had to put in. Thanks to Internet banking the paperwork was minimal and I was able to track down all my monthly, weekly and fortnightly bills in minutes. Then I hit 'calculate', held my breath and waited. It came up that I was $200 a fortnight short of where I needed to be. I wasn't too phased by that, I had been pretty conservative on my income and some of my predicted expenses (she said it was better to underestimate income than overestimate) so I was pretty confident that the difference would make up the shortfall. What was a concern was that I had still left out at least another $600 worth of bills - all unexpected or leftover expenses from the house buying and selling, rates and so forth. I knew I was going to have these expenses for the next three months at least. And that was without any other expenses - no sooner had I finished my budget there was a knock on the door and the school bus driver presented me with a bill for $140 which he needed paying as soon as possible. I hadn't been expecting that for another month - all of a sudden I was very glad of that overdraft!

OK, so my first budgeting experience didn't exactly leave me wanting to throw a party. In fact it made me cancel my planned birthday party as I obviously couldn't afford it! But there was no point getting down about it. I couldn't help any of these bills and they weren't going to go away. There was only one person who could deal with the situation and that was me. I was proud I had finally faced my budget phobia and while it showed I was far from being in the black, at least now I knew for certain where I was at and what I needed to do. I now know that it's going to be a good few months before I start making any headway whatsoever and I'm prepared to deal with it because it's not going to last forever and I'm going to feel good about every single bill I clear. It also made me take a good look at where I could cut expenses such as my mobile phone and insurance by getting in touch with them and asking about how I could get a better deal. All in all, it was a very positive experience and I'm glad I finally did it; I won't be scared to do it again. My boys have both got summer jobs starting next week and that's going to be an enormous help now they'll be able to afford their own clothes, petrol and so on. Guess we've got an early start for Get into Gear Month! I may be late joining the legions of savvy SS budgeters but for anyone else like me who has been putting it off, or sticking their head in the sand, bite the bullet and just do it! If I can do it, anyone can!

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

5. Best of the Vault: Hello 2014!

We hope you had a Happy New Year! There is something wonderful about the chance to wipe the slate clean and start again and now's the perfect time to do it! We hope 2014 will bring you everything you want, but first you have to start planning, set some goals and get yourself organised. Here are some great tips to get you started.

Positive thinking lifts pressure

My husband and I are soon to become parents and our income has been cut in half. Now that we're on a tighter budget, I have realised how much we were caving in to outside financial influence from friends and family. From innocent dinner invitations to suggestions on 'must-have' products for the new baby, the dollars were being seduced right out of our pockets. At the same time, it quickly became uncomfortable saying 'We'd love to, but it's not in our budget' in almost every conversation. It made me feel constantly deprived and I would actually end up spending money to make myself feel better. My husband stopped wanting to talk about our finances at all because he felt stressed out.

Instead of declining every dinner invitation and feeling bad about constantly telling our friends we didn't have the money, we organised a monthly dinner party for the entire group. We rotate hosting duties, and guests just bring a bottle of wine. Instead of eating out once a week with one or two friends, we now have a festive gathering once a month with everyone all at once - but only pay for a home-cooked dinner a couple of times a year! It puts us back in control of how much we spend. I've also realised that people essentially just want to spend time with you, so you can feel free to counter suggest a cheaper and more creative option than going out to dinner. Instead of 'it's not in our budget', I now say 'Would you be up for a picnic on the beach instead? The weather is supposed to be beautiful'. If the plans are set in stone, I say 'We already have a commitment for dinner, but can we meet up with you all for a drink afterwards?'

To stop caving in to pressure to buy, I've had to change the way I go shopping. It used to be a leisure activity to go with friends on the weekends, but I know I am too easy to influence. It's just inevitable that they will say, 'You look great in that, you should buy it', or 'I had this with my first baby, you definitely need it'. Now I shop alone, with a list! I've also stopped taking the bait in conversations. If someone is recommending a $700 mountain buggy stroller, I ask if they know of a more economical brand of similar quality.

Contributed by: J.C.

Cash flow budget stops bill panic

I save the stress of knowing whether there will be enough in my account on the days my bills get paid by setting up a cash flow budget on an Excel spreadsheet. This is in addition to my normal budget. Across the top of the spreadsheet I allocated one column for each day of the month. The first row going down is the item, followed by a row for the cost of that item. You might need to create a few of those as you may have more than one outgoing in a day.

I filled in the cells, making sure to put a plus sign in front of every amount going in and a minus sign in front of every amount going out (for example, item: pay, cost: +$1500, or item: loan, cost: -$400). The last row indicates your balance at the end of each day.

I run my cash flow budget forward a couple of months ahead so I can see any potential hot spots as well as days when I will have extra money in my account that I can transfer to my savings. Previously I was caught out a few times and did not have enough in my account to pay that day's bill, so I had to shuffle money around my accounts or dip into my Visa card. Not anymore!

Contributed by: Sharon G.

Vision board achieves dreams

My husband was dumbstruck when I asked Santa for two whiteboards for Christmas! I explained to him how I hoped this unusual gift would help us all achieve our dreams.

The first board is for the pantry - it hangs inside the door and every time we finish something or take something out of the pantry/fridge that needs replacing we write it on the board and that is what goes on the shopping list. (Hence, I now have a shopping list - not just going to the supermarket without one and winging it which winds up costing a fortune and I come home without half the stuff I needed.)

The second is my 'vision' board - I have listed a few items that are my goals or rewards. This could also be a picture of something I'd like. The vision board can change as required but I believe we all need our dreams to keep us motivated and this is my way of being motivated. Things I have on my board are obviously - pay the mortgage off, a newer car, a holiday for my family and so on. To add to this I have diligently been filling out my Savings Diary daily so can see exactly where my money is going. I'm quite surprised how quickly everything totals up even when you are conscious of spending. Any extra overtime or additional pay my husband and I have been earning, we are putting into our progress saver account. We have provided ourselves with a nice little buffer now in case of tough times ahead.

Santa did bring me my whiteboards, he even hung them for me and the whole family is using them as they were intended!

Contributed by: Jodi Squires

6. Best of the Forum: May the Forum Be With You!

The hardest part of achieving goals, sticking to your budget and saving money is staying motivated. Look no further as the Forum is the perfect place to find inspiration, support and encouragement. Some of these threads have been running for a number of years but in true Simple Savings spirit, everyone is always welcome.

Home, Health and Heart - On the road to happiness January 2014

Nik C and her go-getting goal-setters know how to get what they want! New people are always welcome so jump in and start chatting.
read more...

Share your weekly menu plans (2014)

Planning your weekly menus is one of the best ways to curb your grocery and fast food spending. You'll find some great ideas here to help curb those expensive takeaways!
read more...

59 Sunbeams - Summer 2014

Join Lorax and members in their daily endeavour to 'get just one thing done'! Motivation, madness and milestones abound in this great thread to help get your life more organised.
read more...

Frugal '14

The title of this thread says it all! Chat and share ways to get the most out of your money in 2014 with Persephone and friends.
read more...

Grocery Challenge - January 2014

Start 2014 with a bang - and lots of savings - with Claire M and her amazing list of $21 Challenge ideas. Now is the perfect time to clean out those cupboards, freezers and fridges and get rid of Christmas leftovers.
read more...

7. Best Members' Blog: Loving My New Simple Life

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 store credit in Ye Olde Shoppe or $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog ! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is Murazaki who is doing big things on a small budget!

It's been over a year since I was last on this wonderful site but as I'm a full-time student now and on a small budget, I found myself thinking back to all of the inspiration, advice and encouragement I used to get here.

Looking back at my previous blog posts, I realise how far I've come. Things really hit rock bottom around the beginning of the year when I had to move back in with my parents. Since then though, I've started full-time study and recently moved into a beautiful share-house with some great people in a location that is really convenient for me. Despite (or perhaps because of) my small income, I am feeling very blessed right now. I have great people around me and I get to work towards my goals every day. I think that having a limited income means that I appreciate and value everything that I have. I am back into the swing of budgeting and looking for ways to live well and spend less, and I'm really enjoying it! My earlier blog posts were very much cries for help, and now that my life is back on track, I hope that this blog can be uplifting and give me the chance to share the different things I'm doing to reduce my expenses, and the joy that this is bringing me.

One thing I do to save money is do my grocery shopping at the markets. I love going out on a Sunday morning and seeing all of the fresh produce and freshly-caught fish out for sale. I love cooking at home, so it really is a pleasure for me to come up with creative ways to use whatever whole foods I find at a good price. At the moment my budget for groceries is $80 per fortnight, which is challenging but manageable.

Since I've moved to my new area, I'm enjoying taking public transport too. There are direct buses to TAFE and the city and everything else I need is either within walking distance or a short drive. I am really appreciating the student concession rates, as I can now ride the buses or trains from as little as $0.87c per trip during off-peak hours! I know that these details may seem boring to some, but I am deriving immense satisfaction from these simple little actions I can take to spend less money.

Another area where I'm saving is on skin-care, hair-care and cosmetics. Since moving house, I've realised how much skin- and hair-care products, as well as fragrances and cosmetics I've accumulated - four full green shopping bags of product! I've decided not to buy any more of this stuff unless I've searched through my whole stock-pile and made sure that I don't already have something that I can use! It can be too easy to just relegate everything to the bathroom cupboard and buy something that you want instead of looking to see if you already have it!

Well done Murazaki - we look forward to following the rest of your adventures!

You can read more of our Members' blogs here.

8. Cooking with Mimi: Golden Dream (Vanilla + Orange) Cheesecake

Before Vodka Cruisers, there were fruity cocktails.

Before fruity cocktails, there were decadent creamy cocktails.

And the first creamy cocktail I ever had, was a Golden Dream.

A lush mixture of Vanilla Galliano, Cointreau and Cream, dusted with nutmeg, it was more of a dessert than a drink!

This cheesecake takes me back to those days of creamy cocktails and all night dancing, and is a truly beautiful dessert for Christmas or any special occasion.

It's a little expensive, but once you have the liqueur, you can make a dozen of these. If you don't want the alcohol, simply replace it with orange juice for the Cointreau, and vanilla essence... about 1 teaspoon.

Very special indeed :)

You'll need:

500gms cream cheese
1/4 cup caster sugar
500mls thickened cream
1 packet orange jelly crystals
1/2 cup Vanilla (Yellow) Galliano
1/4 cup Cointreau
1 packet plain biscuits
150gms unsalted butter
Springform cake tin

Then just:

Make up the orange jelly using 250mls of water, and put in to the fridge to make slushy, but not set, usually about two hours. Don't start the rest of the cheesecake filling until it's thick.

Make the crumb crust, by crushing the biscuits. We just do this by wrapping them in a clean teatowel, and bashing them for a few minutes with the meat mallet! But by all means use a food processor if you have one. Transfer them to a large bowl.

Melt the butter and mix it with the biscuit crumbs. Press them into the base of the springform pan, compacting them firmly with your hand or the bottom of a glass, and refrigerate it to firm it up.

Put the cream in one large bowl and the cream cheese and sugar in the other.

Beat the cream until firm peaks form and refrigerate it until you've finished with the cheese mixture.

Beat the cheese and sugar together until it's light and fluffy looking. About 3 minutes is right.

Add the thickened jelly and beat until smooth.

Add the Galliano and Cointreau and combine well.

Add the cream and combine well.

Pour the filling into the springform pan, and allow to chill and set overnight at least.

Garnish with cherries or toffee shards.

Cover with cling wrap, adhered gently to the surface to store. This will keep for up to a week, refrigerated.

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Air Pruning Barrel for Trees

I have been interested in trying some air pruning gardening for a while now so decided to give it a whirl. Thanks to Better Days for starting the "Grow vegies in bags" thread on SS a while back & helping to get me started, Cheers :)»

Air pruning isn't a new idea & is used in the nursery trade to grow advanced trees for landscaping in relatively small pots. They are generally pots with holes all the way around the outside as well as in the base. Some are also made out of a thick polypropylene material, the same as the reusable shopping bags. In normal propagation pots the plants tend to become root bound as the roots slowly start to grow around the outer edge of the pot. These old roots are not very efficient at providing nutrients to the plant so the plant growth tends to become stunted. When the roots grow to the outside of an air pruning pot they hit the warmer, drier air from outside & tend to die off. This helps to prevent the roots wrapping around the pot becoming root bound & also sends a signal to the plant to send out more roots to replace the dying ones. These new roots will have more vigour & tend to be more efficient at absorbing nutrients, allowing the plant to grow larger in a smaller container.

I have played around with making up an air pruning bag out of a shopping bag before & it has gone really well so far although I don't think the material will hold up too long being exposed to the summer sun. I was also gifted some commercially available air pruning bags called "Smart pots" from a friend in the United States, Cheers Mr Dale, but unfortunately I haven't found the time to set these up as yet. I hope to have them set up around the "Simple Savings" bag shortly after the New Year and they will be home to some small bushes, veggies & herbs :)»

I decided to have a go at making up a larger air pruning barrel as a way to grow some fruiting trees rather than planting them in the ground. That way they can be moved around if need be in the future. The first guinea pig was to be our dwarf red paw paw/papaya. Here's my Youtube video of how it went:

I think that growing dwarf fruit trees in air pruning pots like this DIY barrel or a purchased version is a great idea for folks that only have a small yard or even only a balcony to grow on. It could be an ideal way for renters to grow some fruit trees as well I think.

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

10. From Last Month: Christmas Sales Savvy!

Last month Sophie emailed us asking for ideas to get the most out of the Christmas sales:

"I have gone to a few Christmas sales in the past but stopped going as there seemed to be more hype than bargains. How do you get good deals at the Christmas sales?"

We got some fantastic ideas for Sophie - here are some of our favourite replies:

Wait until the sales are over

The best time to go to the Christmas sales is after they are over! After Christmas is when you can pick up wrapping, cards, labels, and things like plastic plates and serviettes. I put them away in a plastic bin with a lid, ready for the next year. I also buy my presents throughout the year, rather than at the last minute. I have a list of who I give to and write in what I have bought. This way you can benefit from any cheap buys you find, and also find something that the person will really love. My mum is 91 and hard to buy for - but she loves Panache talcum powder, so I picked her up a set when it was on sale during the year, then added a packet of six stockinettes because she can't wear pantyhose any more. Most of my presents come from bargain shops. The main thing to remember is to try and buy something that the person will love, not spend a large amount!

Contributed by: Lesley Forster

Keep a wishlist and grab a bargain

The post-Christmas sales are a great time to make great savings on my wishlist! I make a list that I keep specifically for the Christmas sales and haven't paid full price yet. I always buy towels and sheets during this time and save a fortune!

Contributed by: Dolly Mixtures

Do your homework and shop alone

My best hints for getting the most out of Christmas sales are-

Research - Check online and in catalogues first before buying so you know you're actually getting a good deal. It's easy to price check anything these days but is it really a bargain?

Make a list - I take a list of items I would really like to buy and stick to it, as I find in the crowds I get distracted without one!

Shop the sales alone - I find I have a lot more success if I go it alone and it's much faster too!

Contributed by: Margaret Bell

Top tips for getting the best from sales shopping

Christmas sales are a great place to pick up a bargain if you do it right! Here are some tips I have learned:

List what you NEED from the sale.
List what you MAY LIKE (not need) from the sale and consider carefully - do I WANT this? Will I USE this? Will I WEAR this? Is this the PERFECT gift?
Do the research on the Internet, ask friends, check the sales brochures, visit the store before sale time and ask questions. Know the prices, sizes, colours, measurements of furniture and so on and take the tape measure or photo to match colours or other requirements.
Know additional charges such as delivery fees.
Do not buy anything unless you 'love' it or unless it truly will do the job or fit the purpose and you can afford to buy it.
Do not fall for sales pitches - know your stuff and ask the right questions.
Shop with purpose. Remain focussed; there's no point paying for a bargain that you will never use or because your friend loves it but you are not sure!
Wear comfortable shoes and clothing. This way your energy is sustained and you think clearly and remain focussed on the job. Make sure you have the time to shop so decisions are not rushed.
My rule now is if I bring something to the house something has to leave the house to keep clutter out, but then I am 59 years old and find I need less 'stuff' in my maturing years!

Contributed by: Anne H.

Keep a post-Christmas price book

There are heaps of places you can get good deals after Christmas. I go to the supermarket and buy two or three rolls of Christmas paper which I use for the coming year and to make gift tags from too. Check out the second hand shops for goodies as well. If you live in the city and have time to check prices a price book is good to have on hand. Also check your junk mail for good specials. Ask your friends to keep an eye out for good deals on their travels too!

Contributed by: Zellie Wills

11. This Month's Help Request: Party Time!

Petra has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"My Dad's 60th birthday is coming up and although I don't have a lot of money to spend, I want to put on a really unique birthday party for him. I'm not very creative and would love some ideas about where and how to cater for about 50 people. We have a bit of money put aside to hire a hall if necessary but all the invitations, decorations and food will be 'home-made'. I really want this to be something he'll remember so need your help!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Petra, please send them in to us here.

12. Goodbye for Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for January 2014 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to check the Forum and Facebook for challenges and inspiration to help you get there - we want 2014 to be YOUR year!

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

January 2017 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - January 2017

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a great New Year's Eve and a wonderful 2016.

Here at Simple Savings, 2017 is going to be a year of change and trying new things. We started by playing with our newsletters. Instead of one big long newsletter each month, we are going to try smaller newsletters every few days.

I hope you like the new format. As always, if you have any feedback - good or bad, please write in and tell us. What would you like to see in your Simple Savings emails?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many grins,
Fiona

Sally and Hanna: How much an hour??

"Dinner's ready!" Pete called. "Cool!" the kids ran excitedly into the kitchen. "What? I thought we were getting pizza tonight?" frowned James. "What do you call this, chopped liver?!" laughed Pete, gesturing at the pizzas on the table. "We thought you meant TAKEAWAY pizza," said Sarah. "It's not the same." "You're right there," agreed Pete. "Pedro's Pizzeria is much better! Delicious homemade pizza in the comfort of your own home - and I get to earn $80 an hour as the chef!"

"Er - how did you work that out? Nobody's paid you any money," James scowled. "Yeah, you haven't earned anything!" agreed Sarah. "Ah, that's where you're wrong!" grinned Pete. "I whipped these pizzas up in an hour using ingredients we already had at home. This saved me buying four takeaway pizzas at $18 each, plus time and petrol going to get them. That's $80 I get to keep in my pocket and three days I didn't have to work to buy dinner. Win!"

James and Sarah looked confused. After a long silence James asked, "THREE DAYS!?! As if, Dad! It doesn't take you 3 days to earn $80... does it?"

Next Newsletter:

In our next newsletter we will show why it takes poor Pete 3 days to pay for takeaway pizza.

Savings Tip: Home Laundromat helps pay the power bill

Our home 'Laundromat' makes paying the power bill much easier. When my now husband and I first moved out of home, we lived in a big block of units that had a communal laundry. It was $1.20 to wash and another $1.20 to dry our clothes. We had an ice cream container to put our $1 and 20c pieces in so we would always have money for washing.

Now we live in a big house with two children, a washing machine and dryer of our own! Because the cost of electricity to run both can get high with a family, I now pay myself $0.50c for a load of washing and if I have to use the dryer on a wet day I pay myself $0.50c to dry the clothes. I put the money into an ice cream container in the laundry to stop the temptation to spend it, and when the power bill comes in the money is put towards it. I do at least one load a day so this works out to $182 a year!

Contributed by: Rebecca Howard

Facebook Story: Self Sufficient in Suburbia

"Don't ever think a small house block is useless for growing your own fruit and vegetables. I live on a 405 square metre block in suburbia. Take away the 250 square metre house and 40 square metre shed then 40 square metre driveway and that leaves very little space to grow anything - or so you'd think. However with a degassed fridge, nine medium size beds, seven large pots and 12 wall mounted herb pots (so far) and six chooks, I grow around 15 to 20% of our daily fresh food needs and collect 4 to 5 eggs a day!"

Awesome stuff Mark! Thank you for sharing. Joining our busy Facebook community is super easy. Either search up 'Simple Savers' on Facebook or click this link and request to join. Once you're in, let the fun begin!

$21 Challenge Books

We only have a small number of $21 Challenge books remaining and we will not be reprinting them. If you want one, follow this link.

See You Soon!

Once again, I hope you will enjoy the new format. You will hear from us again in a few days.

Many grins,
Fiona

January 2019 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - January 2019

Save $10,000 in 12 Months
Do You Have 'Poor Habits'?
How Much Will You Save by Changing Just ONE Habit?
Your 12 Month Habit Changer is HERE
The Save-O-Meter is BACK, Baby!
Competition Winners: Inspiring Wealthy Habits
New Competition: Get Growing
Best Gluten Free Bread Ever!

Happy New Year!

2019 is going to be a great year, I'm really looking forward to it!

Let's get straight into it!

Fiona

1. Save $10,000 in 12 Months

Yes, you read right! We challenge you to save $10,000 in the next 12 months by swapping your wasteful 'poor habits' for clever, frugal 'wealthy habits'.

Before you dismiss that as being impossible, first have a look at the numbers and our list of poor habits. These are some of the possible savings you can make by switching from poor habits to wealthy ones.

Habit Savings

Poor Habit	Cost	Wealthy Habit	Cost	Week	Year	10 Year
Buying meat	$50	Becoming Flexitarian	$10	$40	$2,080	$20,800
Over fuel budget	$30	Car pooling	$15	$15	$780	$7,800
Kmart addiction	$23	Visiting Garage sales	$5	$18	$936	$9,360
Buying lunch	$80	Making food at home	$20	$60	$3,120	$31,200
Drinking alcohol	$80	Not drinking	$0	$80	$4,160	$41,600
Smoking (3 packs/wk)	$96	Not smoking	$0	$96	$4,992	$49,920
Ready made groceries	$180	Food from scratch	$90	$90	$4,680	$46,800
Takeaway once a week	$30	'Leftover night'	$0	$30	$1,560	$15,600
Pokies	$40	Candy Crush	$0	$40	$2,080	$20,800
All clothing brand new	$40	Clothes from Op Shop	$10	$30	$1,560	$15,600
Buying coffees at work	$40	Box of coffee bags	$7	$33	$1,716	$17,160
3 bottles of wine a week	$30	1 bottle on Friday	$10	$20	$1,040	$10,400
Buying fresh milk	$15	Using powdered milk	$4	$11	$572	$5,720
Drinking Coke	$14	Drinking water	$0	$14	$728	$7,280
Total savings				$577	$30,004	$300,040

Good grief, how quickly do those numbers add up? And we've only listed 14 of countless poor habits. But, no worries. We have made a second list! This one is FULL of them.

2. Do You Have 'Poor Habits'?

There's an easy way to find out - simply click here to download our list! We've made it a free printable resource, to help keep you on track all year round.

3. How Much Will You Save by Changing Just ONE Habit?

What sort of difference would changing one habit make to your life? The answer may blow your mind. To give you an idea, we have made a free printable for you to work out how much money you can save:

Full members get the full package!

Our entire Wealthy Habits program is available to paid members. If you aren't yet a full member it costs just $21 a year to become one and you can save much, much more. You can upgrade your membership here.

4. Your 12 Month Habit Changer is HERE

Here at Simple Savings, we really do want our members to be happy. That's why we have a 365 day refund policy. So if you aren't sure whether or not you are going to like the program, you can become a paid member and download the full version. If you don't like it, simply ask for your money back. How easy is that? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

5. The Save-O-Meter is BACK, Baby!

Do you remember our beloved Save-O-Meter? Members used to use this feature to track their saving successes. As well as keeping track of your individual saving, it also added up everyone's collective saving. Together, we saved an astounding 46 MILLION DOLLARS in the few years it was running.

The great news is, it's back! Better still it's absolutely free to enter in your savings as they happen, all year round. No personal information is required, only the savings you make for your own satisfaction and to share the joy with others. So pop over, check it out and have fun saving with us!

6. Competition Winners: Inspiring Wealthy Habits

Last month's entries for our 'Inspiring Others to Adopt Wealthy Habits' competition were fantastic. So good in fact, we had to increase the number of prize winners! Here are our five favourites:

A whole day's work for just one meal

'My husband is a spender, but I am a saver. To curb his wasteful spending I suggested he think about how many hours he would have to work to earn the money he wanted to spend. For example, if he wanted to take our family of five out to dinner, that would cost about $100 to $120 at our local club, which is equal to approximately one day of work, just for one meal. That was a few years ago now and his spending habits have changed dramatically. He no longer wants to frivolously spend money he worked so hard to earn and has become a real bargain hunter!'

Contributed by: Jacquelene P.

Let your spending reflect your values

'The best piece of advice I was given is to ask "Is this in line with my values? Is buying this what is important to me?" I find that asking myself this with all my purchases and expenses means that I spend my money in a way that more accurately reflects who I am and what matters most to me in life. Therefore I am less likely to get hooked into brand names, or cosmetics, or fashion, or trends, or mindless spending because these things do not matter to me. Removing the spending that doesn't fit with our values gives us the freedom to put money into the things that mean the most. In turn this increases our joy and sense of fulfillment in life.

It's all about choice - and the choice is yours

The advice I would give to someone who is wanting to save but is extravagant is to say "You get to choose. It's your money, and you get to decide what's important to you. If these habits such as buying new clothes and eating out each week, fine, spend on them. But if they aren't what you really want; if there are things that are more important to you, then it's your choice. When you spend money in one area of your life, you are choosing not to allocate it to another. If you are choosing to live beyond your means, then you are choosing debt. It's up to you."

I am all about choice, and freedom. I know I can choose to spend my money on things that won't last and won't ultimately bring me happiness. They may even bring misery (debt) or regret, or I can choose to spend on things that enhance my life, and the lives of others and bring peace of mind and joy. It's all about choice'.

Contributed by: Nicki C

How much is your time REALLY worth?

'There are two things people have said to me, which have helped me to change my mindset around spending. The first was to consider my hourly wage when making a purchase. To ask myself how much time I would be paying for this item, and if I would really be prepared to work that amount of time simply for whatever I was about to purchase - or look for a more cost effective alternative.

The second tip applies to clothing. I try to keep a wardrobe of clothes that I love, and to only buy new clothes to replace those that have been worn out. I was told when purchasing clothes to consider the cost in the amount of time worn. If I imagined that I was hiring the item and had to pay per use, the total cost of hiring the item each time would be the cost of purchasing it. As a result, I allow myself to look for higher quality (and perhaps more expensive) clothing which are staples and are worn daily/very regularly, and to be much more careful when looking at "special occasion" clothing that may not be worn very often (as well as to make sure that I avoid any "fads" that will only be worn for a short time!).

Contributed by: Gillian Richardson

From daily coffee to early retirement

'That takeaway coffee you buy every day adds up. So does the bought lunch, that cute top you saw that was on special while you were in your lunch hour going for a walk, that extra drink after work - there are lots of things we do daily that eat up our money and make it disappear slowly through the week. If we only think about every dollar we save as money we don't have to work for!

When you write down every cent you spend you can soon see where your wages go. Just imagine all that money redirected into your home loan instead of being frittered away - it could amount to thousands and enable you to pay your debt off quicker. Every dollar saved is like $1.30 after tax in your pocket - and that could even mean earlier retirement, yay!'

Contributed by: Emma K

What IS your goal? Make sure you know!

My advice to others to help with their savings goals is to actually HAVE a goal. It can be as big or as small as you want, but if you have a goal and a direction it will give you purpose and is easier to work out a plan. I find it also helps to make that goal visual. Write it down. Put it up on the wall. Fill in a savings tracker, whatever. Anything you can do to see your progress as you go!

Contributed by: Salli M.

7. New Competition: Get Growing

February is get Growing Month and we are challenging readers to invest in themselves. Some examples of the kind of self-improvement goals we have in mind are:

Easy: Borrow/buy and read a self-help book and do the work contained in it. (that last part is the tricky bit!)
Moderate: Enrol in a short course online or at a local vocational college and pick up a skill you've always wanted
Difficult: Enrol in a diploma or degree qualification in a field you'd like to get into

This month's competition is to inspire others to Get Growing. Tell us about something you've done to improve yourself, and inspire others to follow in your footsteps. What did you do? What did it take, and what impact has it had on your life?

We have four prizes of $50 to award for the winning entries. To enter, send us your entries by January 26th. Email your entries to: competitions@simplesavings.com.au

8. Best Gluten Free Bread Ever!

A couple of months ago, when I mentioned I had found a way to make gluten free bread for $2.40 per kilo, many members wrote in asking for the recipe. Before we get started, I'm going to tell you some of the pros and cons about this recipe.

The good things are:

Taste. It tastes divine. This is my kids' favourite gluten free bread, better than store bought
Size. It makes a big enough loaf to make a Breville toastie
Satisfying. It feels like a real slice of bread
Texture. Soft enough to wrap around a sausage

The not-quite-so-good things are:

Equipment. You will need to buy new bread tins
Time. Making this delicious bread takes a good part out of your day. Twenty minutes to make and mix dough, two hours for the dough to rise, two hours in the oven, two hours to cool before slicing.

The recipe we use originally came from Quirky Cooking and Artisan Bread in Five

While I really liked the taste of their recipe, it was inefficient. I didn't want to spend any more time cooking than necessary. And, I wanted big slices of bread. Big enough to make a jaffle.

The first problem I had was finding a deep loaf tin. Gluten free bread does not rise the same way regular bread does.

If you want big slices of GF bread, I recommend you invest in two GF bread tins. Mine cost around $25 each.

If you are using a Thermomix, make two batches of dough following Quirky Cooking's method.

If you are using regular cooking methods, make two batches of dough using Bread in Five's recipe.

Once your bread has risen, turn your oven on to 200C and place the dough into your lined loaf tins.

Let the dough rise again till the oven is heated, then cook the bread for two hours.

Remove the bread from the oven and trim the edges to remove it from the GF loaf tin.

Let the bread cool completely before cutting it into very thin slices. I usually store the slices in four containers. The first we eat and the other three go in the freezer.

Ta-daa! You have two beautiful GF loaves.

That's all for now!

I hope you're looking forward to 2019 as much as I am. Stay in touch and let us know what inspirational things you have planned for the year.

All the best,

Fiona

January 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter

January 2021 Simple Savings Newsletter

Happy New Year. Welcome to 2021!

Are you ready for a fantastic, frugal New Year?

This is Sandra and I will be helping with the newsletters this year.

I have been a Simple Saver for a very long time and I'd like to share with you some ideas about how we save money.

This month is 'Use it Up' month. We are going to be giving you tips and recipes to use up ALL of your food. Especially Christmas leftovers. As well as talking about the most exciting things that have been happening in our Forum and Facebook this month.

A week ago you should have received an email from us with your calendar. Just in case the SPAM filters caught it or you haven't downloaded it yet. Here is a link to it.

/p/Simple-Savings-Calendar-2021

I hope you have a happy, healthy and frugal month and year.

All the best

Sandra

PS. Using up your food doesn't mean 'make yourself sick'. If food hasn't been stored properly or has gone off. Throw it out.

January - Use it up

This month we want you to stretch your money by stretching your food. Which means using the food you already have before going out and buying more.

Most people only eat their favourite food and ignore the rest of the ingredients in their kitchen. Leaving sad and lonely tins in the back of the cupboard and science experiments in the fridge.

This month we want you to turn that around. We would like you to eat every scrap of food that can be eaten before buying more. What does that mean?

NO more buying fruit and veggies until you have eaten or cooked all the veggies.

NO more buying snacks until you have eaten ALL the snacks and used up the ingredients you have to make snacks.

NO more buying meat or protein until what you already have is gone.

NO more buying carbohydrates until all the rice, potatoes, bread, etc you already have has been eaten.

This means eating the fridge bare before restocking it.

AND, with the money you save. Stash it away because no one knows what is around the corner.

Just in case, that sounds too difficult. Here are some tips:

Go to your pantry and fill up a small box with food you don't normally cook with and find some recipes which use those ingredients.

Re-organise your fridge. Move all the rarely eaten food to the front.

Stock take your fridge, freezer and pantry. Re-introduce yourself to food you may have forgotten is even in there.

Make a checklist of quick ideas from the following things that you might have on hand.

Read or re-read the $21 Challenge. It is a great way to use up ALL your food. Just in case you don't have a copy. It is on Amazon as a Kindle eBook. https://www.amazon.com.au/21-Challenge-Crisis-survival-disaster-ebook/dp/B086J87CD4

Be flexible, creative and fearless in the kitchen. Here is an example of Fiona pushing her boundaries and making something tasty out of almost nothing.

Curried French Toast

Yesterday Fiona went hunting through the fridge and found half a stick of french loaf that everyone was avoiding. The bread was asking to be thrown out. But Fiona was hungry and craving something savoury. So she decided to whack a few things together and it was so delicious her daughter Elora called it, Curried French Toast

1 tb Curry paste

1 egg

1 tsp sugar

1 dash vinegar

Pinch salt

Stale bread, sliced thin

Oil

Start heating the fry pan to medium-low.

Whisk curry paste, egg, sugar, vinegar and salt together in a shallow bowl.

When the frypan is heated, put in a splash of oil.

Dip bread in egg mixture. Put bread in the frypan. Repeat till the frypan is full.

Brown bread on one side and then turn.

When cooked. Serve up.

Ideas for Christmas leftovers

People usually have too much food left after Christmas, so what things can you do with your leftovers?

Freeze the turkey for salad

Do you have some leftover cooked chicken or turkey? Even a little of each, carefully wrapped and frozen can be reused later to make a meal or two. Thawed out in the fridge and served with a salad, it will help you to keep the heat out of the kitchen.

Hot chicken rolls

Defrost some chicken, or turkey and make up some hot chicken or turkey bread rolls with the leftover, reheated meat. Add a little instant gravy and they are good to go, just like the takeaway chicken shops sell.

Freezing leftover sauce

Do you have any Cranberry Jelly, Mint Jelly or Apple Sauce left over? If there's just a bit of those things, don't waste them. You can put them into ice cube trays or small containers and freeze them for use later. If you manage to bag a bargain lamb chop or sausage somewhere along the line to BBQ, you can pull those things out and use them then, to make the lamb or sausages a little more special.

Reviving old Christmas Cake

Christmas cakes last a long time but they can get a bit dry. Here is a handy trick for bringing back and making cake taste even better than it did when it was fresh.

Single serve

1 Knob Butter

1-2 tb brown sugar

1 slice cake

Add butter and sugar to a small frypan.

Stir and heat gently.

Add cake.

Heat for 5 minutes or so.

This will give you a moist cake coated in a yummy caramel sauce to serve for a morning or afternoon tea treat for one.

NOTE: If you would like to prepare two or three slices of cake. Double or triple the ingredients and heat up in a larger frypan.

Biscuit Crumble

Do you have any leftover biscuits in those fancy tins or gingerbread cookies, but they are a bit stale or have lost their crunch? Use them to make Biscuit Crumble by putting them in a food processor with some cinnamon, cocoa and/or coconut.

You can use it as a topping on ice cream or a cheesecake base, or layer the crumbs with some chopped up summer fruit. You can also freeze the crumbs for later use too.

Potato Salad Melt

Have you ever tried a potato salad melt? If you have some leftover potato salad turn it into a toastie.

Butter the 'outside' of two slices of bread, spread the inside with potato salad and add a slice of cheese. Then toast in a sandwich toaster. It's devine! Try it and see.

What to do with all that Ham?

We have put together some tips and some recipes for you, just in case you still have left over Christmas Ham.

Ham and Cheese Pie Maker Puffs

150 gm ham

1 tb butter

1 finely chopped onion

½ cup tasty grated cheese

4 eggs

200g Greek or natural yoghurt

Extra butter for greasing

Chop ham into small pieces and put it into a mixing bowl.

Heat butter in a small pan and saute onion.

Cool a little, and add it to the mixing bowl.

Add cheese.

Add eggs and mix well

Mix in yogurt.

Preheat your pie maker and grease the holes if you need to.

Fill them to the three quarter mark, with the ham and egg mixture.

Sprinkle a little cheese on top and close the lid.

Cook in the pie maker for 20 minutes.

Serve with salad, crusty bread or chips

Freeze the Bone

If you bought ham with a bone, and you would like to save it for later, make sure that you have wrapped your ham bone up really well, so you can freeze it. If you save it you'll be able to make some nourishing pea and ham soup for our JUNE Winter Challenge.

Make Stock

Another thing you can do is to make some stock out of your ham bone. A lot of people make chicken stock and we can use the same method and make ham stock. It is super easy to make.

You could use the bone by itself, or add some onions, carrots, celery or parsley. Just don't add any more salt. You can add peppercorns if you like and add some water to at least cover the bone.

We have written you a quick "Use it Up" style Ham Stock recipe.

Dash of Oil

1 chopped onion

Ham bones

Veggie (Scraps or leftovers or whatever is in the fridge)

2-3 litres water (Enough to cover bones)

Herbs (Anything you like)

Lightly brown onion in frypan. Throw in a pot.

Lightly brown ham and bone. Throw it into the pot.

Lightly brown veggies. Throw into the pot.

Add 2-3 litres of water. Enough to cover ingredients.

Throw in a tablespoon of dry herbs or a cup of fresh herbs.

Bring to boil. Cover, turn on low and simmer for 1.5 - 3 hours.

Check regularly so it doesn't boil dry.

Strain Stock. Allow to cool. Freeze it, in suitable sized containers for later use.

NOTE: The longer you boil it the stronger the flavour.

Chop and Freeze

Another ham idea is to chop up any leftover ham and use it, or wrap it well and freeze it into small serving sizes. When you are looking for a quick, cheap meal, instead of buying takeaway you can put some ham onto a homemade pizza base, and add some other healthy toppings for a yummy quick pizza.

Baked 'Microwave' potatoes

Leftover chopped ham makes a great topping on hot baked potatoes. But, roasting a potato in the oven on a hot day is too difficult. So here is a cheat recipe.

Potatoes

Chopped Ham

Sour cream or left over dip

Grated cheese

Wash potatoes well and dry. Poke with a fork all over.

Microwave a potato or several, for about 5 minutes, and then flip potatoes over with a pair of tongs, check for doneness with a fork and cook for a few minutes longer if they aren't quite cooked.

When the potato is cooked. Add chopped, toppings and cheese.

Serve with salad for extra goodness.

Grab and go sandwiches

Other ideas are to slice some ham, add to some bread, or Panini or Turkish bread, and butter the slices to make a sandwich. Add some sliced cheese. You can freeze them and there's a 'brown bagged' lunch ready to go, or a toasted sandwich ready to put into a sandwich toaster.

A scrap of leftover Camembert or Brie will make it even more special if you want to eat a melty toasted sandwich straight away. Not forgetting that ham also makes the best bacon - there's a yummy family breakfast right there!

Ham salad

Small pieces of ham taste delicious mixed with lettuce, onion, cherry tomatoes and avocado drizzled in dressing.

Facebook: Best post

This tip by Kylie Anne King has been travelling around the world this week. When writing this newsletter this tip had been viewed 5.4 million times. It is so good I had to share it with you.

Advertising on Facebook

Facebook approached us to ask if we would like to include paid collaborations in the Facebook group. Such as, arranging discounts for products. We have always had a very strict no advertising rule. But, we are genuinely considering it and would like to know how you feel about having advertising in the Facebook group.

Do you think it is a bad or good idea?

If we could arrange discounts on products for everyone. What sort of discounts would you want? And, are there any companies you would like us to approach?

Can you please have a think about it and tell us what you think in an email?

Mortgage Smashers 2021

Just a reminder. The mortgage smashers will be at it again in the forum this year.

Here is a link to their thread if you would like to join in.

/fora/4347261

The forum is part of our Vault members area. IF you click the link and it doesn't work it means you are either not logged in or it could be time to buy or renew your membership. To buy or renew go to www.simplesavings.com.au/order

Bye for now

Thank you for joining us for another newsletter.

I hope you have a great year.

Sandra

July 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - July 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going Bananas
August is Free Food Month!
Last Month's Competition: One Good Turn
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Your Garden's Bounty
Best of the Vault: Home-grown Produce
Cooking with Mimi: Zucchini with Zing
Penny's Blog: Social Whirl
Homeopathy Corner: Fixing Fingers
From Last Month: Washing Coming Out of My Ears!
This Month's Help Request: Old Fashioned Floor Polish
Savings Story: From Pipe Dream to Reality
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Hello,

How are you going? I have a confession to make. When we started Simple Savings my thumbs were so brown I can't even think of an analogy bad enough to describe them! But, things have changed. Since last year's "From the Yard Challenge" we have eaten 'something' from our yard almost every single day.

Often that something was just a sprig of mint, some eggs or a pinch of basil. But some weeks it was 50 kilos of bananas or 20 kilos of mulberries. And, my favourite part is all that food was free. Free from preservatives, free from additives, no food miles and it was grown on land I was already paying for. The food was free, free, free, free, FREE!

I would love for everyone to be able to achieve the same goal. So please join us in this month's Free Food Challenge. Please put in the effort and learn how to get produce from your yard. Keep reading this newsletter and you will see why it is so very important.

This month's newsletter also contains some incredible stories from members which are guaranteed to warm your heart and make you smile - just like your wonderful emails make me smile!

"Can I just say how much I love your website. People always say they are amazed by how well we live considering I am a part-time teacher and my husband works for the church, so no big wage there. Your site has been invaluable changing the way we think. I have now gotten onto the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Forum thread and that is the most awesome thread. It is so nice to see people telling their 'inner brat' to shut up and be responsible, live within their means and then get ahead. Truly wonderful! Just wanted to share with you." (Melissa Harris)

"Woohoo! Your tips helped me get into the Vault. This new member (courtesy of a kind cousin giving an early Christmas present) is sitting at the library and drooling with excitement at all the brilliant ideas in the Vault. Folks, anyone who hasn't yet joined needs to start saving their loose change. I was working towards it, but my cousin beat me to a very practical, 'suits absolutely everyone with no worries about fit or colour choice' present. Pensioners need all the help they can get to stretch their money. Simple Savings on the job! (Elizabeth Sims)

We really appreciate every single tip we receive every week, so keep sending them in. As well as helping other members to save money, you could also win yourself a free 12 month Vault membership (value $47) in our weekly Hint of the Week competition!

All the best,
Fiona

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going Bananas

Must be time for a break, my tummy's rumbling!' Hanna announced. 'Great minds think alike! How about I make us both a cup of tea?' smiled Sally. As she was filling the jug Sally saw Hanna reach into her bag and pull out a banana! She got such a start she nearly dropped the kettle! 'Oh my goodness!' Sally thought in amazement. Since when did her frugal friend develop such expensive tastes?

'Woah, did you win the lottery at the weekend or something?' Sally couldn't stop herself from asking. 'No! Why do you say that?' smiled Hanna cheekily. 'Er you have a BANANA! Don't you KNOW how much they cost? They're exorbitant!'

'Yes, they are expensive. That is why... Hanna reached into her bag and magically pulled out a big hand of bananas. 'I brought some for you. We've got masses of them on our plants at home! Would you like some?' Sally's eyes lit up as if all her Christmases had come at once. 'Wow, I knew you grew vegies Hanna, but I never realised you knew how to grow your own bananas!'

2. August is Free Food Month!

This year has been a really tough one for fresh fruit and vegetables. Freak weather has wiped out crops time and time again. This has pushed up prices and made it hard for everyone. It would be fantastic if this was just a one off. But, climate change means 'freak' weather events like we have experienced this year are going to happen more and more regularly. And, with the effects of 'peak oil' following closely behind it, it is going to get harder and harder for us to 'buy' fresh produce. So this means we really have to change the way we do things. We need to start learning how to get our produce for free.

The reason this year's weather pushed up the price of bananas is that we grow 90% of the nation's bananas in one small region in Northern Queensland. This area is small enough that one cyclone can take out the whole crop.

This is a real shame because even though bananas grow nicely as far south as Newcastle, it is not economical for farmers to grow bananas there. Bizarrely, bananas grow so beautifully in Far North Queensland that with oil at its current price it is actually cheaper to grow them up north and transport them thousands of kilometres than to grow them down south.

Most of the time this seems to work for everyone. Things only fall apart when a big cyclone hits or when the effects of peak oil arrive and prices SKYROCKET! In case you have heard people toss around the phrase 'peak oil' but never really known how it relates to you, peak oil is when the earth starts running out of cheap-to-extract oil so the price of oil begins to climb and production starts to decline. It happens slowly at first and then picks up speed.

No one is really sure when the full force of peak oil is going to hit, but it will be a lot like a cyclone. At first we will just get a few whisps of wind, oil prices will go up a little bit and then go back down again. We will have several false alerts and many will start to ignore the reports. Some will get cocky and others will be well prepared. Then the storm will hit land. But unlike a cyclone it will not just hit in one small area. It will hit the whole country at once.

When the effects of peak oil really kick in, banana farmers will still be able to grow and pick their crops, but they won't be able to pay for the petrol to put in the trucks to ship the bananas to market. So the harvest will be left on the farms to rot. Then, as the high oil prices continue, farmers will stop planting bananas because they are losing money. The only people left eating bananas will be the mega rich who can afford to pay $50 per kilo and the Happy Hanna's who established bananas in their yard years before the crisis happened.

It would be lovely if this problem applied only to bananas. But, as everyone has seen this last twelve months, it doesn't. Many of our crops are grown intensely in small vulnerable areas and then transported thousands of kilometres. The cost of producing food this way is going to SKYROCKET!

Suddenly, everyone's food will have to be grown locally. There is a major problem with this; we have lost the skills, the trees and the land to grow our food locally. How many people do you know who could grow fruit and vegetables for their family if they had to? How many people do you know who could milk a goat or make their own cheese? What would everyone do if the price of food went up 300% in a month and then stayed there?

I wish I knew the answer to that question, but I don't. I wish I could stop cyclones and peak oil from coming, but I can't. (Heck, most mornings I can't even get the kids to school on time.) The things I can do is put plants in the ground now, keep chickens now and make sure my family have the skills to get free food from their yard the way my grandfather used to.

What you do is your choice, but just in case you want to learn how to grow your own food this month, we have masses of great gardening tips, advice and information for free so you can learn faster. Here are some links to previous articles to get you started:

And for those of you who would like to learn how you can keep chickens safely and easily in your own backyard, our specially designed 'chicken tractor' has been a huge success with members! Download your instructions for free here.

3. Last Month's Competition: One Good Turn

Wow. Wow, wow, WOW. Reading your competition entries from last month has been quite an eye opener, not to mention an emotional experience. We always knew our members were a caring bunch but the 240+ entries we received really take the cake! Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their 'good turns' and volunteering stories with us. You are all wonderful people and choosing a winner was extremely hard. Our first prize winner is Rebecca Aziz. Rebecca is an amazing lady who has turned her own heartbreaking experience into something positive to bring comfort and support to countless others. Here is her story:

"On the 26th of March 2009 our second child, our first daughter Yasminah, was stillborn. I have been a member of Simple Savings for many years and during my pregnancy and after my loss, my SS family were there for me. It was and still is a devastating moment in my life that has changed my world forever. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her.

"There were so many things I didn't get to do with Yasminah and many services I found out about weeks later. I knew from the moment I lost her that I wanted to make a difference and make her life count. She needed to leave her footprints on the world. I started developing my idea of a gift for families who leave the hospital without their child. It would be something similar to a bounty bag.

"A few months after we lost our daughter we discovered we were pregnant again and with twins! My idea was put on hold, because I wanted to concentrate everything on this new pregnancy and taking home two babies. At 28 weeks we were told that our twin girls had twin to twin transfusion syndrome where one baby receives more blood flow and nutrients than the other. Every day was a gift and we needed to get them as close to full term as possible.

"At 31 weeks and 5 days I started bleeding and went into preterm labour. I arrived at the hospital at 9:30pm and by 11:53pm and 11:55pm our beautiful, but tiny, identical twin girls were born. Aisha and Aaliyah. They spent four weeks in intensive care before finally coming home on my 29th birthday.

"After we were settled in at home, I wanted to keep my promise to my daughter Yasminah to make a difference. I have always kept a journal throughout my life. My journals through Yasminah's pregnancy, after we lost her and then when our twins were born eight weeks premature are some of my most treasured items.

"I have always been 'creative' and love to scrap so decided that I could decorate plain lined journals for other families to help them through their journey - either when told there was something wrong with their baby during pregnancy (like we were told during Yasminah's pregnancy) in NICU or after they lost their child in pregnancy, birth or infancy.

"The first journal was donated on the 26th May 2010, exactly one year and two months after we lost Yasminah. In June 2010, Yasminah's Gift of Hope became an official registered DGR charity. To date we have provided close to 1500 Gifts of Hope to families across Australia and even a few overseas. Sadly we have donated Gifts of Hope to many Simple Savings families too.

"Yasminah's Gifts of Hope Journals are a very special keepsake that allows families to keep ultrasound images, photos, cot cards, arm bands and foot and hand prints as a cherished keepsake of a precious life. Each journal contains a special page that the family can fill in about details of their child, like name, date of birth, place of birth and details of the funeral or memorial service if their child has passed away. We encourage families to write about their journey. The family may like to keep it as a diary during their pregnancy after being told their child has a congenital abnormality, a journey through the roller coaster ride of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when their child is born premature, or life after the loss of their child. Some other uses are to write about the birth of their child, write poems about how they are feeling, write a letter to their child and keep any cards or messages received from family or friends.

"Most importantly, families can write down details and memories about their child to treasure forever. A Gift of Hope.

"I dedicate my time to running the charity, as well as managing a household, raising my three beautiful children and being a wife and friend. I am the president and am supported by a wonderful team of volunteers, many of whom are my friends or friends I have made through my journey. We even have a few SS volunteer members. I really enjoy decorating the journals and can say I have probably decorated a few hundred on my own. It is so therapeutic and I feel close to Yasminah when I do them - it helps me heal. The most important thing for me is that families know they are not alone and they can create beautiful memories and with the aid of their journal have hope to heal.

"There is so much more involved in running a charity than I ever thought, but I wouldn't change any of it! I decorate journals, have single handedly created most of the content on our website www.ygoh.org.au, visit hospitals, support families and love what I do. They say find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life. Because of SS I have been able to stay at home and be with my children and run the charity."

Rebecca wins $100 for sharing her beautiful story. Well deserved, we're sure you will agree!

Congratulations also to our five runners-up - Megan McGowan, Philip Baker, Leigh-Ann Hargreaves, Mandy Garters, Louise Spaulding - who each win $50.

Congratulations to all our winners. You are truly inspirational!

4. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members find it easier to source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a store, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you could be in to win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us, the better your chance of winning. This month's winner is The Lebanese Loaf as nominated by Lorax. Read her entry to see what makes them such a great example of a Hidden Gem.

The Lebanese Loaf
41 Ryedale Road, Denistone NSW 2114

In this little Hidden Gem of a store the Lebanese owners spoke English with me and treated me as if I was part of the family. They treat my kids with indulgence and tolerance just like we ARE part of the family, which is a very rare thing indeed to be made to feel like that in a store. It's not because I'm a 'regular', it's just the way they are with everyone. It is apparently something of an institution and people come from far and wide to go there.

So, what do they sell? The BEST Lebanese bread, fresh from the oven, piping hot and sooooo soft. Just delicious. Worth the trip for that alone! You can also get baklava and biscuits to die for (not all swimming in honey and soggy like many places). They also sell nuts and legumes and pulses and all manner of flours and dried fruits. They apparently make a mean coffee (although I can't vouch for that myself because I don't drink coffee)!

The staff are fantastic, so friendly and helpful. If I'm getting baklava and say that I am just going to grab some bread they won't hear of ME walking the two metres to get it, they go and get it for me or have someone bring it to me! They encourage me to sample things and tell me the cheaper way to buy things. For example, when buying single pieces of an item (I wanted four at $1.50 each) they advised me to buy ten pieces instead because then they were sold by the kilo and the ten pieces cost just $5.80. They didn't have to tell me that; as shopkeepers they were going to get more money for less produce if they stayed silent but I was 'family' and they shared their knowledge with me.

Price-wise they are excellent value, especially considering the quality of product that you receive. In summary: Fantastic foodstuffs, friendlier than friendly staff, great value. It's a gem for sure.

Congratulations on being this month's winner Lorax and a huge pat on the back to The Lebanese Loaf for providing consistently outstanding customer service and value for money! You can enter your own Hidden Gems into our monthly competition here. Thank you and good luck!

5. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Rob n B for this extract from their blog "Picture of the Day." If these photos don't make you want to get out in the garden and grow your own food, we don't know what will!

Harvest time & Fishy Bits

Have started to get a bit of a glut of certain veggies at the moment so am after different ways to try and store them. Have searched the forum for a Minced Ginger recipe but SIGH have not been able to locate one BUT, that's all good as I haven't been able to locate it on the Web either so my faith in SS is still intact :)»

I did find a thread with some tips on freezing carrots so did up a trial run of them yesterday before we pulled out the row. We had them steamed as a side with our pasta tonight and they were a tad soggy so will try them in larger chunks next time as well as a raw bag to see how it goes...

Some of the other pickings lately have been purple cauli, purple kohlrabi, beetroot, broccoli, snowpeas and buckets of sugarsnap peas. The mangle's greens have been picked a few times and used as a Lettuce replacement in a few meals..

Aquaponics...

We have been wanting to get more self reliant with our food (hence the ever expanding garden) for a while now and have taken the plunge into Aquaponics with a small trial Aquaponic/Barrelponic system made from as many recycled bits as we could scrounge/buy..

Well, it's not really a trial as we already have 3 X 1000L IBC tanks that will be turned into a Jade Perch Aquaponic system giving us fresh fish... We will be trying to produce as much food for the fish by feeding them home-grown worms, Black Soldier Fly larvae and duckweed grown in troughs (with some Yabbies, Thanks for the idea L208). Hopefully it will turn out to be a very SS venture.. We already have some freebies and bought some VERY cheaply purchased parts for the two systems. The smaller one will eventually be turned into a herb system that we will put on the deck (if/when it gets built) as a bit of a water feature..

There is a You Tube clip on our blog of the set up
http://bitsouttheback.blogspot.com/2011/07/aquaponic-start-up-with-barrelponics.html

Have a great one all...: )»

Congratulations Rob n B! To read more from them, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

6. Best of the Forum: Your Garden's Bounty

Does 'free food' sound like a dream to you, as you look down upon your not so green fingers? Never fear, our helpful members are here! There are so many fantastic threads in our Forum to inspire and inform that even the novice gardener can get something set up and growing in no time at all. Read on for home-grown food made easy!

Winter vegie garden - What's in yours?

This is thread number 9 in a fantastic series where members have been discussing everything a person needs to become a dab hand in the garden.
read more...

Mushroom kits - are they good value?

Here, member Shamaroo inspires everyone with a cheap, home-made mushroom kit.
read more...

Compost for your vegie patch, dos and don'ts

Onions in or out of the compost bin? Eggshells or not? Meat? Dairy? What CAN we safely throw into our compost bins? Find out here!
read more...

Growing fruit and vegies from store-bought produce

In this thread you can learn how to make those store bought herbs and vegies work double shift for you. From basil to shallots, tomatoes and pumpkin - don't throw out that less than perfect produce, plant it up for some bonus home-grown free food!
read more...

Renting - what vegies are good to grow in pots?

With just a little know-how and energy, even those of us with limited space can grow our own delicious and nutritious food. Our members show you the way.
read more...

7. Best of the Vault: Home-grown Produce

The Vault is just jam packed with ideas on how to get your hands on cost effective, home-grown produce. So come on Simple Savers, let's get those gardening gloves on!

$29 vegie patch

I'm growing cherry tomatoes, big tomatoes, cos lettuce, iceberg lettuce, baby carrots, cucumber, silverbeet, bok choy, spring onions, basil and coriander in my own back yard and the whole thing only cost me $29 to set up. Here is a photo.

My budget garden was simple to put together and I am very proud of my effort! I used:

An old tin water tank, obtained through Freecycle. I cut it in half, ending up with a big pot, 1.5m diameter x 0.6m high: free.
Cutting blades for the grinder to cut the tank up: $5.00.
Mulch from the tip: free.
Soil, from a landscape supplier. The machine drivers weren't there on the weekend so we shovelled a ton of it ourselves and got a discount. We split the soil with family: $10.
Garden hose from yard sale to cover sharp edges (not in photo): $2.00.
Plants, I grew some from seed and bought some seedlings: $12.

Along with our chooks and making my own yoghurt, I'm on my way to running a self-sufficient, healthy, budget conscious household.

Contributed by: Amy Corrigan

Vegie gardening for beginners

If you're daunted by the thought of growing your own vegetables, try these simple steps to get started.

Find a spot in the garden that gets plenty of sun.
Dig compost into the soil. Make your own compost by using a plastic garbage bin with a lid. Cut a big hole in the base so when the bin is full and has had time to compost down, you can simply lift the bin, wait for the compost to fall out and start again.
Save the seeds from pumpkins, tomatoes, watermelon and so on.
Buy reasonably priced seeds from gardening websites including: www.diggers.com.au, www.greenharvest.com.au, www.edenseeds.com.au and www.greenpatchseeds.com.au
Use a planting guide to know when to plant. Get one free at www.globalgarden.com.au/ggplantguide.htm
Prevent moisture from evaporating by using mulch. Keep a bucket in the kitchen and bathroom to recycle water for use in the garden.
Fertilise! I made my own worm farm using a cheap plastic garbage bin from The Warehouse and two round plastic bulb savers from Bunnings. For $45 I had a small bag of worms delivered from www.wormsdownunder.com.au. I dilute the worm casting liquid until it looks like weak tea and pour onto the vegies - they love it.
Keep pests away by companion planting. Visit http://www.sgaonline.org.au/?p=207
Don't plant the same thing in the same spot. Rotate the crops to prevent diseases growing and enjoy eating your cheap, fresh produce!

Contributed by: Alessandra Winfield

Fruit trees pay their own way

My avocado and mandarin trees have paid for themselves this winter! Both trees were purchased already grafted so I didn't have to wait years for them to bear fruit - my avocado tree cost $40 eight years ago and fruited after four years. This year, I picked over a dozen avocados from the tree which is now four metres high. The mandarin tree cost around $17 two years ago, and this year has provided up to 50 mandarins.

Both trees have the yummiest fruit you could imagine, even though we were told they wouldn't grow where we live because of frosty winters. In fact, the fruit is so good, my colleagues steal my lunch just so they could try it!

My other trees, including apple, lemon and pear, are doing well and next year I hope to be able to tell a similar success story about my young peach and orange trees. I love fruit trees because they provide every year and I never have to garden - just mow and water!

Contributed by: Karyn Howard

Grow two tonnes of food for $19.50!

The Diggers Club has a Low-Income Vegetable Offer which is a collection of their highest yielding varieties of vegetables and is available to Health Care Card holders.

The Diggers Club phone number is (03) 5984 7900. Their web address is www.diggers.com.au.

I don't have a Health Care Card, so I spent $46 on seed. With 13 packets of seed, you can grow:

120kg pumpkin
21kg beans
824kg tomatoes
560 lettuces
268kg cucumbers
42kg carrots
22kg peas
115kg parsnips
247 broccoli heads
60 bunches of silverbeet
840 onions

I have a vegetable garden only 10 metres long and four metres wide. I spend an average of four hours a week on the garden, which includes the time to blanch and freeze surplus produce. We are a family of four on only one wage as I stay home with our three and five year old children. I now spend only about $7.00 a week on fruit that is in season and on special. I save a minimum of $40 a week which, after our initial outlay, is a saving of $2034 a year of healthy, pesticide-free produce.

I didn't know how much produce I could grow with our cold frosty winters, but I managed to grow a lot. I am more limited in summer as we are on dam water.

Happy gardening!

Contributed by: Karen Fairbairn

Layered and compact vegie patch

I grow container vegetables very successfully and for next to no cost using this simple method. I recommend getting hold of some fairly large polystyrene boxes; usually the green grocer has plenty to get rid of. Next, add drainage to the bottom of the box; you will really need great drainage as your vegetable plants don't like soggy roots. I have found the following works best:

First I put fly screen over the holes at the bottom of the box so I don't lose soil. Next, I add a layer of newspaper and wet it, then a layer of manure, followed by layer of compost, cut lucerne, and repeat each layer (except the newspaper) wetting each layer as you go, until you reach the top. Then you are ready to plant!

As the soil drops down, simply re-layer on top. I have found no need to use pesticides and over time have discovered that most things grow successfully this way. I have found that carrots and beetroot really prefer growing in the ground, but have had great crops of tomatoes, basil, capsicum, snow peas, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, radishes, cos lettuce and parsley (seriously, I had such a good crop I had to use hedge trimmers!).

Contributed by: Helen Heinjus

Extra tips for Vault members

Thanks so much to all our members for keeping our Simple Savings site just bursting at the seams with handy hints and tips on just about anything! Here are some extra ideas to inspire you to grow your own food.

Let your lettuce go to seed! Contributed by: Tamara Holland

Meet a growing family Contributed by: Kristy Faris

My no-dig vegie patch Contributed by: Kelly Hoppe

Our chooks help us save $20 a week on vegies! Contributed by: Philip Beauchamp

Pot up vegies in winter to give for Christmas Contributed by: Betty Threlfo

8. Cooking with Mimi: Zucchini with Zing

What a great feeling it is to be able to provide for your family from your own backyard. I love the thrill of just ducking out the back, to snip a bit of this and a few leaves of that, for dinner or lunch. Even better is the look on our guests' faces, young and old alike, when you tell them it's from your own garden. Their eyes grow wide with admiration, and they seem to enjoy the meal all the more. To be truthful, most of my friends and family look at me with blatant disbelief because my green thumb runs more to the black, fungi and bug-ridden in my garden, rather than the lush and edible.

Nonetheless, I persevere, and one of the vegetables which have actually rewarded my efforts, however haphazard, is zucchini.

I hear you groaning already. Yes, Mum used to serve them up as translucent blobs with butter, or even more hideous, try and hide them in white sauce, but WE KNEW, I tell you. Their zucchini-ness still shone through, no matter how she tried to disguise them.

In more recent times, however, I've come to appreciate zucchini. You can eat them raw, baked, stuffed, grated into salads, cut into julienne strips for stir fry or sliced and pickled like cucumbers, and with just a little TLC, the plants reward you with a bumper crop.

Our new favourite is 'zacos'. What is a zaco? It's taco filling inside a zucchini! Crisp like a taco, smoky flavoured like a taco, but unbelievably, even better than a taco. Why? Because you can't grow tacos in your own backyard! Try them. I bet you like them!

Zacos

Equipment required:

Large baking dish lined with baking paper or well oiled
Sharp pointed knife
Apple corer or teaspoon to hollow out the zucchini halves
Large, non-stick frypan
Large spoon
Teaspoon

Ingredients:
For four people

1 (or two for big fellas) large zucchini per person
1 tbsp oil
300g mince
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaped tsp smoky paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 dsp corn flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (only if you like it spicy... ariba!)
Taco sauce or salsa
1 cup cheese, grated
Steamed rice, corn chips and salad to serve if you like

Method:

Line your baking dish and heat the oven up to 200C.

Grab your zucchini and lop off the ends. Then carefully, with the pointed knife, slice them right down the middle lengthwise so you end up with two long halves. Now the next trick is to give the zacos a hollow in which to spoon your yummy, fragrant Mexican mince. I use an apple corer for this and make my hollows simply by running the apple corer straight down the middle of each zucchini half, creating a little channel. You can do it just as easily with a small teaspoon. Just scrape it down the middle, forming the channel with the rounded end of the spoon. Save all those bits you just dug out, because they can go into the Mexican mince. Just dice them up roughly.

Line all your little zucchini dug outs up in your baking tray.

Now it's time to make the filling.

Heat your hotplate up to full power, and put your pan on top. Drop in the onion and stir fry until it's sort of see-through-ish but not brown. Then add your mince. Cook that for about 3-5 minutes until it's all golden brown and crumbly. Very carefully remove from the heat and pour off any liquid or fat left behind in the pan.

Return the pan and the crumbly mince to the hotplate, and get the mince smoking and steaming again. Now let's add our sweetly fragrant spices; the garlic, smoky paprika, cumin, coriander and chilli (if you're having it). Get the mince all coated in the spices. It should smell pretty darned good now. The neighbours will be thinking there's a Mexican Cantina next door.

Add the corn flour and mix well to coat everything then add the water. Now add the bits you've cored from the middle of the zucchini. Stir until the mixture bubbles and thickens.

This is the bit where you become a culinary legend.

Spoon the scrummy mince into the little tunnels in your zucchini. You shouldn't need more than about two teaspoons of filling to each half. That makes this a wonderfully inexpensive meal. Now finish them off with a sprinkle of grated cheese and pop them into the oven.

We like our zacos crisp, so I just give them enough time to warm through, which is usually about 20 minutes. If you want yours soft and gooey, leave them for another 10-15 minutes. The crispness does make them more taco-ish.

While your zacos are baking, prepare your serving plates. A bit of salad and a few corn chips maybe gives it a touch of authenticity.

When the zacos look all bubbly brown and heated through, remove them from the oven, spoon over a little taco sauce or salsa and some sour cream or guacamole, and serve on your waiting plates. We love ours just topped with sliced fresh avocado.

Deliver to El familia and bow to many muchas gracias!

Right, so that's a few zucchini socked away. Whaddya do with the rest? Because they'll just keep a-comin'!

How about this one? Nice as a light lunch with some home-made bread, or as a yummy side dish with a difference.

Wok Tossed Zucchini Ribbons

Equipment required:

Large bowl
Large wok or non stick frypan
Stir frying tools like a spoon and an egg spatula
Sharp knife
Kitchen tongs
Serving platter

Ingredients:

4-6 zucchini
2-3 tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 clove garlic, crushed or 1 tsp dried garlic granules
1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled

Method:

Have the sesame oil, sesame seeds, stock cubes, garlic and chilli all measured out and ready to go, next to your hotplate.

Slice the ends off your zucchini.

Very carefully slice them lengthwise into long ribbons. You should get 4-6 narrow strips from each zucchini. Then slice each ribbon in half lengthwise again. This is a task older children from about eight upwards really enjoy. The precision of it fascinates them. You won't hear a peep out of them for ages!

Plop them all into the bowl and add the oil. With clean hands, give them a good toss.

Now this last bit only takes mere minutes, so make sure the rest of the meal is almost ready to serve and your plates or platter are laid out waiting.

Heat your hotplate right up to high and pop on the wok or frypan. You want it literally smoking. Once it's really hot, drop in the zucchini ribbons. They should sizzle like mad! Grab your spatula and spoon and get in there and toss them around, keeping them moving. After about a minute, add all the other ingredients. Keep tossing; making sure the zucchini is well coated with the sesame seeds and other flavours.

After about three minutes of tossing they should be starting to soften and go a little translucent. You can serve these crispish or soft and curly according to what your family prefers, so give them a little longer if you'd like them soft and curly.

When they're steaming hot and smoky and the smell of garlic and sesame is wafting through the house, they're ready.

Use the tongs to pile the ribbons onto your plates or platter and enjoy a new era of zucchini eating at your place!

9. Penny's Blog: Social Whirl

July 20th

Hard to believe but as of this Friday I will be the mother of two teenagers! Yes, my littlest baby is about to turn 13. Although I'm not quite sure how we're supposed to celebrate it as it seems my children have a party pretty much every week! Well not exactly a party but we certainly have enough people staying every weekend to hold a party! School holidays are here again and by yesterday I think the tally was up to seven kids staying at our place; most of which have been staying for the last five days or more. I don't mind at all though, I think it's brilliant! Although I did stop baking after day two when the last batch of muffins were scoffed in less than two hours!

People are always asking us how we manage to feed so many people ALL the time and the answer is quite simply smart shopping, smart cooking and making the most of whatever fruit, vegetables and herbs we have in the garden. If we didn't have our SS skills we just wouldn't be able to do it but through shopping around and snapping up specials when we see them, we manage to keep everyone well fed without making too much of a dent in the food budget. Which is just as well because one of them alone can eat up to 12 Weet-Bix in one sitting. Yesterday while I was working they decided to make breakfast and had toast, cornflakes and Weet-Bix followed by chicken soup, fish cakes and sausages! Noel's chicken soup is a huge hit among the teenage tribe and we've been asked for the recipe so much I thought I would copy it here. Perfect for this time of year with so many colds and sniffles going around!

Noel's Chicken Soup

1 - 2 cooked chicken carcasses (or cooked chicken pieces, whatever you have)
Approximately two litres water
2 chicken stock cubes
1 packet Kings Country Chicken soup mix
About 1/3 cup Pam's soup mix (for those outside NZ this is just a cheap and cheerful basic soup mix)
1 large onion, chopped
About 1 1/2 tsp mixed herbs (essential!)
1 tsp minced garlic (or two cloves, crushed)

All or any of the following winter vegies (you can only usually fit in 4 or 5):

1 potato
1 large carrot
1 reasonable sized piece of pumpkin
1 - 2 celery stalks
1 parsnip
1 kumara
1/2 a swede or turnip

Throw everything together in a large pot or slow cooker and bring to the boil. Cook slowly for as long as you want or until the vegetables and pulses from the soup mix are softened and cooked through. Remove all the chicken bones and enjoy, no need to thicken or blend. Makes a super thick, chunky soup. Yum!

One of the boys staying said the other day 'You must feel like the local orphanage!' I guess it does feel a bit like that but it never fails to make me smile when they all drag their mattresses down to the lounge and camp out together, watching the rugby and scoffing pizza. Eventually we run out of mattresses but that doesn't bother them, they just sleep on the couches or in chairs as well! I'm not sure what the neighbours must think sometimes; just the other day a lady walked past and asked Noel if we were selling bikes as there were so many parked outside our gate. Last weekend Noel and I returned from an evening out to find them all leaping around the lounge with guitars. Apparently they had been watching MTV and decided to have a huge and very noisy Karaoke session, followed by a haka competition. For those of you who don't know what a haka is; it's that very loud chant that the All Blacks (and these days it seems the world and his wife as well) always do before a game to intimidate the other team. Fortunately they decided they had better stop that around midnight before they got a visit from noise control. I so would have loved to be a fly on the wall!

Still, it's all good, free fun and at least we know where they all are. And the best thing of all is that after years of struggling we seem to have found the cure for Liam's anxiety - lots and lots of friends! He simply doesn't have time to worry about anything any more, he's too busy playing sports and having fun! When we first moved here Noel and I did wonder if we were being a little selfish. We told the boys it would be wonderful and that they would have a fabulous time but really it was our dream, Noel's and mine, and there was a time that we wondered if we had done the right thing by them after all, dragging them away from everything and everyone they knew. I think, however, we can safely say that we have; they are both thriving in so many ways.

It's not only the boys who are thriving either. For the first time in longer than we can remember Noel and I have a social life! In fact it's so busy it's hard to keep up! I confess years of farming and being surrounded by other farmers had turned Noel and I into homebodies. It's pretty hard to have a social life when most of your mates have to get up at four o'clock in the morning to go and milk cows! In addition Noel's job means he is on the road all the time so often the last thing he wants to do at the end of the day is go out, particularly when his phone doesn't stop ringing with work calls. But that was before we met a wee dynamo by the name of Kiri and her husband Nigel. Like us, they had been coming to Whangamata for years and decided to take the bull by the horns and move here six months ago. Their enthusiasm and love of socialising is infectious and before we knew it lo and behold we had things to do on a Saturday night! And Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon! Fortunately there are plenty of free things to do, such as a weekly quiz night (which I'm very bad at as I get so excited every time I know the answer I burst it out too loudly and tell all the other teams in the process) and the Karaoke every Saturday is entertaining to say the least! Through them we have met so many lovely people already and what with them and the rugby we really feel like a part of the community. I think you could say that our whole family has found its very happy place in the world!

The only problem with having so much fun is that ultimately other things tend to go by the wayside, such as the vegetable garden. At the moment we have red peppers and bok choy coming out of our ears but not an awful lot else. Noel has been talking about building another raised vegetable garden since we moved here nine months ago and not a day goes by when I don't look at my hanging baskets and pots and borders and think 'good heavens, I really must do something about those!' For me at least, running is going to have to come first for the next few months as I can't get behind with my training but I am determined to try and do my bit in the garden before the end of the school holidays. After all, August is 'Free Food Month' and with the amount of people always under our roof, we're really going to need it before too long!

July 2011

10. Homeopathy Corner: Fixing Fingers

Few sounds are as bad as the scream of a child who has jammed their fingers in the door. The sound seems to go right through to your bones. And, it is not a five second scream, it continues until the pain relief kicks in. If you are using Paracetamol like many people do, the screaming goes for about half an hour. But, if you have a homeopathic kit handy and have learned how to use it you can relieve their pain in about 30 seconds and the screaming stops. Well - that is what happened when I jammed my two-year-old's fingers in the bathroom door.

Remedies work faster than any other form of medicine I have ever witnessed. So this month we are showing you how to use the remedies to help people when they have damaged their fingers. To read Fran's article, click here.

11. From Last Month: Washing Coming Out of My Ears!

Last month Kim asked:

"Help! We are a family of four with two teenage boys and I am at the end of my tether with the amount of washing we make each day. I have an 8kg washing machine and we would wash on average two to three FULL loads a day. At this time of year it is hard to get washing dry outside - we live in a very sheltered area with no breeze and the washing can literally hang there for a week and not dry. I have three clothes horses which I use where ever possible and the outside lines are always hung with washing. The tumble dryer has been going constantly for months just trying to keep on top of things and keep everyone clothed. My husband has a work uniform, my kids each have school uniforms and we are a very sporty family so always have a lot of muddy, sweaty sports gear to wash. Hubby and I try to make our own clothing last as long as possible between washes but the kids are something else! Does anyone have any suggestions for some sort of solution, routine or habit that we can all get into to help reduce the load? Thank you in grateful anticipation!"

Wow Kim, you are definitely not alone! We received a massive response to your request! Thank you to everyone who sent in your helpful solutions. Unfortunately we are unable to print them all here (they would take up the whole newsletter!) but here is a bumper selection. Hopefully they will help Kim and others to lighten the load!

Make them do it for their own good

When my boys, now 28, were teenagers I decided that they needed to be made responsible for their own washing, since I did not want their future wives blaming me for not teaching them to be helpful in the home. Doing their own washing made them appreciate the value of keeping clean and making their clothes last longer. They are both married now and help their wives because they know how to operate a washing machine and hang clothes on the line. This helps the stability of their young families, especially given that today's young women expect their men to help around the home. When you know you are doing it 'for their own good', it is easier to enforce and put up with the initial complaints when they are learning to make sure they have that favourite top washed for Saturday night!

Contributed by: Liesa Hancock

Washing-friendly tips

Make sure that your children are wearing their garments more than once if they're not dirty. The same goes for towels - they can be used more than once and make sure they are re-hung to dry after use and not left wet and smelly on the bathroom floor.

Get the kids involved in the whole washing/hanging/sorting process. Nothing will encourage them to be more careful with their clothes than putting the responsibility for their washing back on their shoulders. After all, they are teenagers and it's not too early to learn!

Whoever is doing the washing, make sure they're scouting around to ensure they've tracked down all the dirty clothes, then sort them into loads - darks, whites and so on. Don't do a load until you have a full load. Hang smaller garments in the garage to dry on your clothes horses, keeping your outside lines for larger items like sheets or towels that really benefit from drying outdoors. Have a cover over your clothes line (I have rigged a cheap tarp over my line) and then, even if it rains, your washing will still dry, albeit taking a bit longer. It could be my imagination but, since I installed the tarp, the washing is drying quicker, so I think the tarp is also protecting the washing from night dew as well!

Relocate your dryer to a warmer area - the warmer the room, the shorter the drying time. Also, make sure you're keeping your dryer lint filter clean as a dirty filter can slow down drying time.

Most sports gear is only worn for matches once or twice per week so make sure they're washed as soon as the match is over to ensure they dry in plenty of time.

Finally, with regard to sorting, buy only one colour of socks for each child. It's easier to sort socks out if they're all one colour/style. No more missing socks - yay!

Contributed by: Barbara Hodge

Laundromat could be cheaper option

I find dryers at the laundromat are a good saving. They are large and cheap, if you only use them when you really need to. I find I can get two machine loads in one dryer and it costs only $2.00-$3.00, so four loads of washing dried for $5.00 is worth it. Plus you can fold and put it all away on the same day!

Contributed by: Helga Collins

Iron as you go

When I was first married 36 years ago, I lived in the UK in a small town house. Getting washing dry, especially in the long freezing winters, was very hard. My new neighbour taught me this trick, which I still do even now. When the washer is finished, start the ironing, on the soaking wet clothes. Shirts respond very well to this; put them on hangers and other washing on a clothes horse carefully as not to crease them. They have already started the drying process, they iron much better, as they are not creased yet, and best of all, when they are dry they can be hung up in the wardrobe done!

Contributed by: Susan Theobald

Do the maths on laundry

Kim,

14-21 loads of washing per week? 61-91 loads per month. 182-273 loads per quarter. 728-1092 loads per year? Are you running a house or a hotel?

Your water bill and electricity/gas bill must be horrendous, not to mention the exhaustion from putting through all those loads of washing, drying, collecting, folding, ironing, and putting away in drawers and wardrobes. You don't specify who does all of this, but let's assume it is you.

Put another way, if each load is an hour of your time (we know it's more when all is said and done), if you were to divide all those hours by a 7.5 hr work day, you are looking at 97.06-145.6 days per year, or 19.41-29.12 weeks per year. That's over a work month a year in the laundry!

What do you think is a reasonable amount of washing per family member per week?

1 x light load

1 x dark load

Per fortnight: 1 x bed linen and towel, face washer, and so on.

This reduces to a much more reasonable 10 loads per week, 20 a fortnight, 30 a quarter, and 520 a year. But how to make this happen? There are two kinds of incentives in life: the positive kind and the punishing kind.

I believe that your problem will be halved by familiarising each member of the family with the workings of that mysterious machine in the laundry. He who has to wash, dry, collect, fold, iron, and put away his own clothes, may think twice about sending so many dirty items to the laundry, thus saving water, electricity/gas, wear and tear on the washing and drying machines and exhaustion. Should they go over their allocation, fine them $5.00 for every load in excess or make them do everyone's ironing for a week.

A positive incentive involves not just looking at where you can make savings beyond time, money, and the laundry slave's sanity, but how this can benefit your family in other ways: a meal out, a day out, a weekend away, treating a beloved long-distance relative or family friend to a stay at your place, bolstering your emergency fund, or something else that your family would enjoy. Including more time with Mum!

Contributed by: Kylie Lawrence

Basket system works for us

I thought I'd share a system I use to make washing more efficient: I have four washing baskets in the laundry for darks, whites, coloureds and delicates. Every member of the family sorts their own washing into the respective baskets. If a basket is full, every member of the family is expected to tip it into the machine, add powder and turn the machine on. If when they open the machine there's a finished load in it then they're expected to hang it out or put it in the dryer. I still need to check the machine every morning for 'forgotten' loads but this system has saved time and money because everyone contributes. Best of all I have reduced the total number of loads because every load is a full one, and this saves on power and water too.

Contributed by: Megan McGowan

Family routine eases the pain

I feel your pain! I too have been overloaded with washing but from two reflux babies and two teenagers and my washer is 8kg as well. This is how I dealt with it.

I hung removable hooks up in all of the bedrooms, either behind doors or on walls, wherever I could. The kids were going through many changes of clothing but often unnecessarily so I told them to hang clothes they wanted to wear again or that weren't dirty but were worn on the hooks.
I gave the teenagers their own washing basket and they were given priority on alternate days to put a load of their own washing on before school. I would hang it or dry it when they were at school and then they were responsible for folding and putting it away after school. I know it seems like hard work to implement and we had a few times where they were complaining about not having the appropriate uniform but they smartened up very quickly when they realised they were going to have to bear the brunt of their own inaction. They also came to appreciate the time it takes and later when I took up the responsibility again, I did not have unworn or barely worn clothes being stuck back in the washing or the dreaded only-put-it-in-the-basket-the-night-before-it-is-needed.
Once I took the responsibility back on myself I still made the teenagers responsible for folding and putting away their own clothes. Every bedroom in the house had its own basket and I would just throw them into the appropriate basket. Clothes that needed to be ironed I would drip dry and only iron if I really needed to but teenage boys only wear a shirt one day and it looks creased 10 minutes after they put it on so I didn't bother, except on special occasions.
I always put a load in the washing machine just before I went to bed. If your machine has a delay start that works out well and in winter I didn't even bother with the delay start. It means I started the day with a load already washed and so was one step ahead to begin with. Some machines don't have a delay start but they do have a soak option and initially (before my machine broke and I bought the 8kg one) I used to load up the machine, put it on soak and let it fill. I would open up the lid (which would pause it) and then in the morning I would close the lid which would finish the cycle (spin) so by the time I had had my tea I had a finished load and the teenagers could put theirs in or I could do another before I had to take the kids to school.

Contributed by: Chenoa Mcdonnell

Start a penalty system

I recommend you have a family meeting including your teenage sons. Discuss the problem, pointing out as they wear the sports clothes they should wash them. Set up a roster and a penalty/reward system. For example, if they don't take their turn at doing the washing they lose their mobile phone/internet; whatever they 'need' the most. Also try to impress on them that if they keep their school shorts/pants clean, take them off when they get home from school and hang them up, they can be worn more than one day. You might have to remind them a few times to change out of their school uniforms but it will be worth it in the end!

Contributed by: Gloria Cashman

Make the most of ceiling space

We live in a very wet, cold part of the country - a temperate rainforest in fact - and I find the only way to dry clothes at this time of the year is on a clothes drying rack that is suspended from the ceiling. We have a double storey section so the clothes rack hangs in the stairwell and as heat rises to the highest point, the clothes dry over night, as opposed to taking three days if they were on ground level. We just used an old baby's play pen, some rope and two pulleys and screwed them into the ceiling joists. I can fit a load of washing on the rack and have it dry by morning!

Contributed by: Susan Langridge

Let your car help dry the washing!

I've found that putting washing on a clothes horse in the garage dries in no time. During the day, whenever there is a small rise in temperature, it is amplified by the metal garage door and placing the washing closer to the garage door helps it dry even faster. At night, we park a vehicle in the garage that has usually travelled at least 30 minutes and the heat from the engine is trapped inside the garage and helps dry washing overnight!

Contributed by: Zoe Crook

Don't let it get you down

The way I manage my laundry is not to worry about getting it all done. I do one load a day, and that's enough to keep it moving through, and there'll be days when the pile is huge and days when it starts to decrease. I do the load that is the most urgent and it means there's room on the clothes horse/clothes line to get it dry and the folding pile doesn't get out of control either. Sometimes it feels like I NEED to do more, but the clothes are still there the next day and they get washed eventually, and it has been a huge sanity saver!

Contributed by: Annie Regan

Bumper Bonus Tips for Vault Members:

Fine the kids and the power bill will be fine too! Contributed by: Tj A

Bartering system keeps the washing pile low Contributed by: Anne-Marie S

Cut down on washing for regular guests Contributed by: Karen Cornford

Make kids the solution to washing woes Contributed by: Melinda Rau-wig

Save time, money and ironing by part-drying Contributed by: Nadine W

Hang the washing! Dry it faster Contributed by: Leisha M

Easy ways to end the washing nightmare Contributed by: Caro K

Pin down those washing savings! Contributed by: Beryl D

Follow our system and your washing will be sorted Contributed by: Mary-Anne E

Easy savings on washing and drying Contributed by: Jenny E

12. This Month's Help Request: Old Fashioned Floor Polish

This month Denise asks:

"Does anyone have a good old fashioned recipe for floor polish?"

If you have any tips which can help Denise, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: From Pipe Dream to Reality

In just a few months my husband and I have managed to save money, pay off some debts and generally increase our standard of living by making a couple of lifestyle changes. We both work as caregivers for the same organisation, working with intellectually disabled people. Earlier this year he was working some 40 minutes' drive from where we live, in a residential home and I was working for a nursing agency travelling all over Christchurch, sometimes up to 45 minutes' drive away.

Just before the devastating February earthquake I made the decision to work for the same organisation as my husband, even though it meant a drop in my pay of $3.00 per hour, but when I applied for my job I negotiated to work close to home, the furthest residential home I work at being 20 minutes' drive away, and the closest at which I am based being five minutes' drive from home. My husband also got a transfer and now works 12 minutes' drive from home.

The difference to our fiscal and physical health is amazing. I would estimate that between us we have saved $300-$400 per month on petrol. We could afford to buy ourselves bikes for Christmas and sometimes, weather permitting, I cycle to work, 20 minutes each way, saving petrol and giving me a good workout at the same time. My husband was recently able to buy himself a second hand motorbike which he is currently tuning up, satisfying his enthusiasm for saving money as he estimates that when it is up and running he will be spending around $20 a week to get him to work and back, saving our household budget approximately $60 per week in transport costs, and it satisfies his urge to relive his youth!

When I was working all over the place I was physically tired from the extra hours added to my days from driving and I frequently had to ask my boss for advances in my pay just to put petrol in my car to get to work. Now, despite being on a lower hourly rate of pay, a tankful of petrol lasts me for a month or more instead of a week or less, and because I am less tired and close to work I can take on extra shifts as and when required. We both feel good mentally and physically and this satisfies our desire to live a greener lifestyle and cut our carbon footprint.

As we are now able to pay off debts and are getting ahead financially, we are excitedly planning an overseas trip next year, which is no longer a pipe dream but becoming a reality!

Janice Given

14. So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Congratulations on making it this far through the newsletter! I hope you have really enjoyed it. If you have any suggestions for things you would like us to include or exclude from future newsletters, please drop us a line. Good or bad, it doesn't matter. I love feedback and your input helps us to keep improving. If you have enjoyed this month's newsletter, why not forward it to your friends to help them save money too? Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page?

Best of luck with your Free Food challenge. See you next month, if I don't bump into you on the Forum first!

All the best,
Fiona Lippey