Here are 9 "System: 2021" tips.
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!!)
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.
OR
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.
OR
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!
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.
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.
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
March 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter
March 2021 Simple Savings Newsletter
Hi,
Hello and welcome to our March newsletter. How are you going? I hope you had a great February. This month we are going to focus on saving the planet and fattening our wallets by reducing the packaging in our lives. But, before we go there we would like to send out huge congratulations to our Simple Savers Facebook moderator Josh Wood and his wife, for being such brilliant SSers, doing all of the Simple Savings things and purchasing their very own first home, as a young newly wedded couple. They are off to a great start!
You can see the post here in our Simple Savings FaceBook group
March Packaging Challenge
Let's reduce the amount of money we spend on packaging
Our March calendar challenge is to reduce, reuse and recycle our packaging. This will help you save money, save the planet and help your home to be a beautiful place.
Gifts
One area people often waste money on is buying supplies to wrap gifts. A way around that is to create your own gift wrapping stash by rounding up all of your gift giving bits and pieces and storing them in one place. Some things that could go in your stash are:
- Paper bags
- Ribbons
- Fabric scraps
- Cardboard
- Tags
- Bows
- Glitter
- Paint
- Pencils
- Paper
- Stamps
Stop buying cling wrap
Fiona used to think cling wrap was essential. Something everyone used and every kitchen needed. But, since the Simple Savings first Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Challenge. She almost never uses cling wrap. She has learned there are loads of things you can use instead. These are:
- Easy to stack reusable containers
- Upside down lid on a bowl
- Upside down bowl on a plate
- Washable zip lock bags
- Glass jars
Sandra used to use plastic wrap in the microwave till she bought two plastic microwave plate covers, from IGA for half price. They're also great for covering meals when eating and entertaining outside.
Sandra also bought herself some reusable snack bags. They can be taken out of the house and snacks can easily fit into a handbag or backpack without being too bulky and they'll flatten when they are empty. They can be easily wiped out, and reused and it saves throwing plastic wrap away.
Improving Sandra's tea station
When Sandra thought about the 'reduce the packaging challenge' she decided she could stop using plastic bags to line the bin on her tea.
For many years Sandra kept a 'little itty bitty' lined bin, at her tea and coffee station, to put any used Tea Bags, and foil from milk tops and so on, in. She used to line the bin with small freezer bags. But, decided the bin liner was wasteful and wanted to stop using it. She found a pair of unused white 'easy to wash' Latte Mugs in the cupboard and started using them as 'linerless' bins.
Sandra's Mr likes to reuse his teabags because sometimes some tea bags can be a bit too strong. He puts them into the little dish.
Sandra doesn't have a fancy tea and coffee station because her Mr likes to cling and clang things. So she uses Mason Jars with screw top lids (as pictured).
What do you use for storing your tea, coffee and so on? Do you have a fancy setup on your benchtop or do you have a special other place to keep them out of sight?
Sandras is simple, cheap and effective. They don't have a very big kitchen, so often there's not a lot of room for two people to stand in it and open cupboard doors, so this is very convenient.
If you would like to chat about your tea station or how you're cutting excess packaging from your life. Come and join us in the Forum.
Tips from the Vault
We're sure that many of us are counting down the days until we can go on holidays or that we can travel again sometime in the future. This one will be most useful for then…
Drying clothes while on holiday.
'Glenda says she packs 6 wire coat hangers, plastic pegs and a bar of Sunlight Soap.
Glenda says that she takes the bar of Sunlight Soap as normal soap suds up too much.
Wash clothes each night and peg/hang the clothes onto the hangers. It's amazing where you can 'stick' a thin coat hanger. She's placed them on the air/con slats, up under lamp shades, off curtain rails. Are you getting the picture? Yes, and even on pictures.'
What a great hint! We're sure it will help us all to pack less, because we can wash things. It will help to use up some of those hangers because they seem to like to breed.
Contributed by Glenda H
Protecting iPhone accessories
I'm sure us girls like to pack a lot into our handbags, especially if we are going somewhere.
One thing I don't want to be caught without these days, are the accessories needed for my iphone. I never know when I might need them.
So keeping in line with our packaging challenge, and always thinking about reusing, reducing and recycling. I had a good look to see what I could find at home to put in my handbag, to keep things together so I don't lose these things. Face it, they're too expensive to lose or to have just floating around in a handbag.
I had tried to find a pencil case at the shops for my iPencil but none were long enough or small enough width wise to carry with me. So after a good look around at home I found this, clear plastic case with a zip, which was the packaging for something else. It does the trick perfectly and I can see what I need easily without having to dig around.
Tips from the Forum
Here is a great example of re using some packaging, by Suzy Caddy from over on the Simple Savings Forum. Suzy writes…
Here's a tip for making placemats from toy packaging boxes. Instead of throwing away the boxes that your kids favourite characters come in.
Carefully cut out each character or section.
Then using a laminator, and a glue stick, glue a spot on the back of the cardboard cut out and place it on the inside bottom of the laminator sheet, to keep the characters in place.
Then laminate.
Looks great with the clear plastic around the characters and kids love having them.
It only does A4 size, but that's a great size for toddlers.
Suzy writes that she just made these for grandson using Marvel Characters from the box their Christmas present came in. As she had to split the characters up between each boy.
Packaging Challenge
Claire is running this month's packaging challenge in the forum. If you are a Simple Savings VAULT member and you would like to join in. Here is the link
Recipe: Sandra's Super Speedy Shortbread
Here is a super easy Shortbread Recipe that you might like to try.
Ingredients
- 230 grams of cold butter, cut into cubes
- 60 grams of caster sugar
- 60 grams (½ a cup) of pure icing sugar
- 1 ½ level tablespoons of cornflour
- 300 grams (2 cups) plain flour
- Pinch of salt.
- 100 grams cooking chocolate
Equipment
- 2 x Loaf tins or baking tray
- Grease proof paper
Method
Preheat the oven to 170⁰C - 180⁰C.
Line your loaf tins with greaseproof paper.
Put the butter, caster sugar, pure icing sugar, cornflour and plain flour into the bowl of a food processor. Add in a pinch of salt.
Secure the lid. Push start and process until it forms a dough ball.
Scrape out of the bowl straight into the loaf tin. Push the unbaked shortbread mixture into the tin and mould with your fingers, flatten and then bake for 20-40 minutes until golden brown.
While the shortbread is cooling, very carefully melt 100 grams of cooking chocolate by breaking up the chocolate and placing it in a bowl. Then zap in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir gently.
Then zap again at 10 second intervals, making sure you don't seize the chocolate, until it's all melted.
Then carefully pour the melted chocolate over the cooked, slightly cooled shortbread.
Lift the chocolate coated shortbread out of the tin when the chocolate has set.
The messy chocolate edges will come off with the paper.
Cut the shortbread into slices, very carefully, using a sharp knife.
PS - if you like more chocolate then double the amount of chocolate.
Bye for now
Thank you for joining us for another newsletter.
Sending out another really big thank you to all of those people who take the time to write to us!
We hope that you have a jam 'packed' month full of great Simple Savings thoughts and ideas to help get you where you financially want to be.
September 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter
Newsletter for September 2021
Hi,
How are you? I hope life isn't too difficult. After last month's newsletters we were flooded with beautiful emails. Thank you! They were fantastic.
This month Sandra is in charge of the newsletter and she has put together a great guide for sprucing up the outside of your home and creating your very own backyard oasis.
I hope you enjoy this newsletter and Sandra's great collection of tips.
Till next time.
Many grins,
Fiona
PS. Before moving onto the main guide. Have a quick stop in the forum where members have been sharing tips, tricks and useful threads for snazzing up their yard.
Building an Outdoor Oasis
Being stuck inside 4 walls all day hasn't been too appealing to many Australians and New Zealanders. Creating a peaceful space to sit outdoors and 'just be' is very important to our health and wellbeing.
Here are the steps to create your own oasis:
- Choosing your zen space
- Cleaning it up
- Snazzing it up
- Enjoying the space
Choosing your zen space
Have a look around your yard for a space you can turn into a lovely little zen zone.
It doesn't matter if your space is teeny tiny or large and spacious. Some things to consider are:-
Do you have a lovely view or something which you like looking at? Do you have a space out of the wind that could be turned into something special? Is there a protected corner out of the weather that you can use? Front yard, side yard, backyard, balcony or patio it doesn't matter.
Once you have chosen a spot it is time to clean things up.
Cleaning it up
If there's rubbish in that space, then clear it out. If you cannot physically clear out your space yourself, put an online advert in your local fb community group page or ask a friend to help you.
If you have a lot of rubbish you could hire a skip bin. If the weeds need taming, dispose of them in your green council bin.
If you have an outdoor space and it's not going to affect anyone else around you, it's easy enough to clean with a bucket of warm soapy water, (a squirt of washing up detergent or a small scoop of washing powder, dissolved in hot water first will do the trick) along with a soft bristled broom and a hose. A nice 'drying' day will help too.
Dip that soft broom into that warm soapy bucket of water and scrub, scrub, scrub.
If you have a stubborn mess to clean up, on the ground/paving/concrete, then a stiff broom will be useful to scrub with.
Then hose it off. You can use one of those $2 shower squeegee things to get the water off any windows that are now clean and in your space. Give those security doors/screens a good scrub while you are at it. Make sure the windows/doors are tightly shut first. Enjoy playing with the hose as it is very therapeutic!
If you have a patio and you are in a high rise building then of course you would need to consider how to clean your outdoor floor space. A mop, bucket of water and a scrubbing brush and some elbow grease should do the trick. Sweep the area first and remove anything which might be in the way.
Once you have cleaned your space down, do put a doormat down if there is a doorway which you will be using to go in and out of. Did you know that -
'90% of dirt that comes into your house, and onto the floors, comes in via foot traffic through the doorways'
Snazzing it up
There are a number of things you can do to improve your outdoor area. Such as, renovating your fence, tweaking your furniture, personalising the space, adding more light, planting greenery and making things comfy.
Painting Palings
Seriously, even fence palings can be made more attractive with a coat of paint. See if you need to get permission first, to paint fence palings if you live in a Body Corporate type building set up and do get permission if you have to.
Have a look at the enormous change made to this small backyard, with some paint bought from a hardware store. You can talk to the staff at hardware shops about what paint to buy and they will assist you to choose. You will need to do a rough measurement of any space you would like to paint to make sure you are buying enough paint.
Not everyone will go for yellow BUT you can see the difference 2 coats of paint makes. Bear in mind that fence palings are thirsty so you will need to do 2 coats. You can paint with a big brush and it will take a little time, but the results are well worth it.
NOTE, this paint did not 'bleed through' to the neighbours side of the fence, so you might need to check that your paint won't either. Be careful how you apply the paint. If you go easy, and be patient then you won't make a big mess. If your fence butts up to a garden, then do put something temporarily down to save your plants. Protect any hard surfaces with drop sheets whilst painting. Old sheets would be useful for this.
A perfect example
Have a look at these before and after pics from one of our lovely NZ Simple Savings forum members. Honestly it's the same space, with the fence painted and a tidy up. Doesn't it look amazing!
Before
After ❤️
Outdoor Furniture
Any good space needs somewhere comfy to sit. If you already have something, then put it in the place where you would like it to go. If you don't have anything, there are loads of small tables and chairs which you can buy cheaply online and have delivered. Take care not to purchase anything too heavy if you won't be able to lift it yourself, or do get someone to help you.
Have a look if there are any good specials at your local hardware store, Aldi, Bunnings and so on, you might find some great marked down outdoor furniture.
Also don't forget to ask if anyone you might know if they have any spare outdoor furniture which they are no longer using. You never know what might just turn up.
Don't be scared to repair or to strip old furniture back or to repaint it if you have some outdoor furniture which could use some improvement. Perhaps your outdoor furniture just needs a wash or a fresh coat of timber stain or oil before it will be good to go.
Plants
Next thing to think about is plants. Greenery or colourful flowers are going to turn your space into something special. Though do be aware to make sure your pets can't reach or eat anything they shouldn't. There's lots of fake greenery around which looks quite real, from plenty of places if you need to use it instead.
Perhaps you can hang some real plants up and out of the way? Hanging baskets look fantastic.
Get into swapping plants with your neighbours, family or friends or take some cuttings and enjoy watching them grow, because buying plants can be expensive.
Look online for your local neighbourhood Buy, Swap and Sell group or FaceBook Marketplace as perhaps someone is clearing out their yard or garden and they have spare plants they're getting rid of.
If you have an ugly wall you want to hide, you can screen it with some quick growing plants, or use some lattice panels. Have a look at the gardens in your area to see what grows well.
You might want to put a small veg or herb garden in your space, because we all know that nothing beats fresh! There are plenty of 'ready to assemble veg gardens' out there. Perhaps you might already have a suitable pot or container you might like to use as a herb pot.
Personalising your space
Then have a think about what you can add to personalise your space and to make it truly your own. Garden ornaments, little statues, a birdbath for the birds, a fairy garden, a sundial or maybe a Buddha statue. What have you got that you could use to make your space really special?
Lighting
Have a think about lighting. Can your space be used in the evening or at night? Will a candle or two do the trick? There's loads of inexpensive fairy lighting, solar lighting or temporary lighting which can be used. A citronella candle can do double duty too.
If you don't have any shade you might like to get a lightweight umbrella to use. You can put it up or down and put it away in the garage when not using it.
Wear a hat if you have to sit out in the sun, and you don't have other shade, but it really is important to get a bit of sun each day as it provides us with our vitamin D as our body can't store it.
Adding comfort
Other than that, you can make your space comfy with cushions. You could buy some cheaply from an op shop or you could make some if you can sew. Any of the major retailer chains or places like Spotlight, Pillowtalk, Kmart etc also sell cushions/cushion inserts/cushion covers.
A throw or two comes in handy if some shade comes over your space or the wind starts to pick up, then you can sit there for just that little bit longer if it starts to turn chilly. If you knit or crochet, there's a project for you to get started on whilst sitting and enjoying your new space.
These two photos are of the same space. The first photo is dressed with pillows and goodies and the second is completely bare. How much cosier do the pillows look?
Make sure anything you put outside is safe from adverse weather. Check that it won't get wet or blow away in high winds.
Enjoying your space
Lastly, pop your earphones/earpods on, listen to your favourite music, get that kindle or good book out and grab a drink, relax or do nothing but admire all of your hard work. You've earned it!
You've now got yourself a lovely spot to have your morning or afternoon tea in, or to have lunch outdoors at, or to entertain in…even if you are dreaming of doing the entertaining after lockdown.
Next are some great food suggestions to enjoy in your outdoor area. First is a classic dip, fruit and cheese platter. Then Sandra's Mexican Rice Salad.
Sandra's Easy Mexican Rice Salad Recipe
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of cooked white rice ( 2 x 180ml cups of raw white rice cooked with 3 cups of water in a rice cooker)
1 X 400g tin of 4 bean mix or mexican bean mix, well drained
1 x 125g tin of corn kernels, well drained
½ red capsicum, finely chopped.
Combine the cooked rice, bean mix, corn and red capsicum in a bowl and mix.
Season with salt and pepper.
DRESSING
2 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons of Spice mix for Tacos
2 teaspoons of white sugar
Place the dressing ingredients into a screw top jar and shake until combined.
Pour the dressing into the bean mixture and stir in well.
Keep refrigerated.
Serve with avocado, tomato, lettuce, grated cheese, avocado dip, sour cream, salsa or guacamole
In burritos, wraps, tacos, with fish, with grilled chicken, with chilli con carne, with pork belly, quesadillas, with BBQed corn cobs...Enjoy!
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.
Fi
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
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 -
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.)
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
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
June 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter
Newsletter for June 2021
Fabulously Frugal June - Winter Wellness
Hi,
How are you going? I hope you have been having a great June. This month's calendar theme is Winter Wellness and this month's newsletter is packed with tricks and tips to keep you healthy through the cold months. Starting with Sandra's tips for a happy and safe winter, then onto some great recipes and our competition winners.
All the best,
Fiona
Sandra's tips for a happy, frugal, safe winter
Sandra has put together a collection of her favourite tips she uses to stay healthy during this time of year. Such as, keeping the germs away, wearing warm clothes, warming her house, finding indoor activities, eating well and caring for her skin.
Keeping the germs away
Protecting yourself and others from germs:
- wash your hands and use sanitiser
- wear a mask
- if you feel ill stay at home
- cover your face if you need to sneeze or cough.
Warm clothes
Getting cold makes us vulnerable to flus. So stay warm by:
- Wearing layers. Such as, thermals, singlets, tights, scarves, jackets, hats and gloves
- Wear a good jacket and boots.
If you are needing more warm clothes. A great place to look is the op shop. There's often plenty of brand new items or barely worn things at good prices and most op shops will give you an extra discount if asked.
Warm Home
There are simple things we can do to keep our house warm without sending your powerbills through the roof. Such as:
- sealing up draughts
- covering windows
- only heating rooms you are using
- keeping doors and windows closed
- hunting for free firewood
- using extra blankets
- cooking biscuits and tasty treats in the oven.
Inside activities
Stay healthy by finding ways to entertain yourself inside when going outside is likely to lead to illness. Such as:
- snuggling on the lounge with a heat pack, blanket and a good movie
- start a knitting or crocheting project
- play games
- work on a jigsaw
- make next year's Christmas gifts
- catch up on your reading
- listening to podcats
- list writing and vision board checking
- debt busting, chart checking or budgeting.
Sandra's favourite indoor activity is sitting by the fire drinking hot chocolate and eating Tim Tams.
Eating well
Eating nourishing food helps strengthen your body. Such as:
- consuming plenty of vitamin C by eating citrus fruits like oranges, mandarins and lemons
- hearty soups and bone broths
- drinking lots of water
- making hot lemon, honey and cinnamon tea.
A delicious and affordable way to add spice to your drink is to soak a cinnamon stick in your tea while it brews. When done, take out the cinnamon and put it into the fridge to re-use next time.
Feed your skin
Germs and viruses can get through damaged skin. Stop the cracks by:
- drinking lots of water
- using lip balm
- use plenty of moisturiser.
From the Vault
These are some of our favourite Vault tips for this time of year.
Homemade disinfectant spray combats winter ills
Keep colds and flu at bay with this inexpensive disinfectant room spray. In our efforts to stay well, we tend to reach for expensive store-bought sprays, filled with goodness knows what, but there's no need. You can make your own natural version using essential oils. Cheaper to make and no chemical nasties!
Ingredients:
- 15 drops lavender oil
- 8 drops orange or lemon oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus oil
- 1/4 cup water
Combine all in a spray bottle; shake well before each use. Mixtures can be sprayed into the air.
Becky's "kill anything" chicken soup
Because my mum has an auto-immune disease, she is prone to colds, flu and pneumonia and takes an average of 12-18 tablets a day. As I don't want Mum to get sick or have to take more tablets, I needed to think up a way of boosting her immune system. So I started to make ordinary chicken soup, but it wasn't potent enough. That's when I came up with this recipe. I think that it tastes delicious and has plenty of flavour.
- 8-9 chicken lovely legs, skinless
- 8-10 chopped cloves of garlic
- 1 chopped onion
- 2-3 small red chillies (Remove the seeds if you don't like it too hot as they're the hottest part, or just use one chilli.)
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- Oil
- 2 litres Continental chicken stock
- 2 finely chopped carrots
- 1-2 handfuls corn
- 1 cup macaroni pasta
- 2-3 handfuls baby spinach
Heat the oil in a stock pot and brown the chicken, garlic, onion, chilli and ginger.
Add the chicken stock, carrots and corn.
Bring to the boil, and if needed add water. Simmer for 15-30 minutes. Take out the chicken, pull the meat off the bone, break meat into small pieces and put back in the pot. Add macaroni and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Add baby spinach, taste, add salt and pepper if needed, then serve.
Since I've started to make this recipe, my mother has had fewer colds. When she has been sick it has not been for as long and has meant fewer hospital visits - not to mention fewer doctor's visits. Between the savings on medical bills, doctor's bills and hospital visits, I cannot begin to imagine what our savings have been but I don't doubt that it's been in the thousands of dollars.
Competition Winners
Last month we held a competition for the five best contributors to the Forum and Facebook group. Our x 5 Competition Winners from May, have each won $20. The winners are:
Claire M
For her ideas to assist Fiona in using up the odd things from her fridge and pantry AND for doing an outstanding decluttering job in our Chuck Out Frenzy Calendar Challenge. Claire truly is a wonderful and amazing person.
Aisha A
For the great ideas sent in to help Fiona with her odd food.
'These Banana chips are meant to be eaten as they are like ordinary banana chips. They sound like they might be spicy.
Buckwheat can be ground and used as a flour for pancakes
I add a tablespoon of Chia seeds to my yogurt the night before and then have it for morning tea. I buy large tubs of yogurt and spoon into a container for individual serves to be eaten at work.
Chia seeds can also be added to oats soaked overnight like a Bircher muesli.
Marinated figs - what are they marinated in? Can they be used as part of a cheese board?
Fish crackers to be eaten like prawn crackers.
Kimchi as part of a poke bowl with a Korean twist or with cheese in a quesadilla or toasted cheese sandwich
Lime pickle as a condiment with poppadoms
Mung beans are used like you would red lentils in dal but soak them first.
Thai crackers eat as they are.'
Majella
For her lovely ideas for using up unusual ingredients.
'Chia seeds are lovely mixed with any type of milk (coconut, almond etc) with the grated rind of a lemon and frozen raspberries.
Mix and leave in the fridge overnight (or longer)
Google chia puddings for more lovely ideas.'
Wendy C
Also had some great suggestions.
'Seasoned Banana Chips: They are chips. Just like potato chips, but made of thinly sliced bananas and fried. Eat them like potato chips. Don't make them into flour. You'll be wasting already good snacks. They are usually savoury, but can be a little bit sweet too depending on the recipe.
Fish Crackers: Well, you got the hardest type of fish crackers. The taste is pretty mild. The way we eat them is just like that as snacks, just like prawn crackers. But Indonesians love chili sauce a lot, so we usually dip them into chili sauce/sambal and eat them.
Kimchi: They're sides when eating a meal. You might be put off by the smell the first time trying it. They taste sour and spicy, refreshing. You can either eat it to cleanse your palate before having a different dish, or eat it with rice. But you eat it when you have your meal. Either rice or noodles, or the famous korean bbq.
Thai Crispy Rolls: They are snacks. Crispy, thin and sweet.'
Karina R
For the best post in our SS Facebook Group.
Best of the forum
Two lovely threads for this time of year are:
Soup, Soup, Glorious Soup
This thread contains delicious tried and tested, true favourites. Perhaps you will find some great ideas there!
Chuck it out Frenzy
May's decluttering Challenge went really well and members are still clearing and cleaning.
Sandra's Recipe Corner
Sandra has shared two of her very tasty soup recipes with us.
Minestrone Soup
This tasty Mediterranean soup is full of flavour and has enough nutritious ingredients to be a whole and hardy meal. Serves at least 6
Ingredients
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 teaspoon of dried Rosemary
- 1 teaspoon of dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- Some freshly chopped parsley
- 3 rashers of chopped Bacon (OR some chunks of ham if you have some)
- 1 x 140g can of tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- ½ cup of pesto or tomato based pasta sauce
- 1 x 400g tin of kidney beans, or similar, rinsed and drained
- 2 finely chopped onions
- 2 cloves of crushed garlic
- ¼ pumpkin peeled and chopped into cubes
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 potato, peeled and diced
- 4 cups of water
- 3 cups of stock (I add 2 teaspoons of Vegeta stock powder to 2 cups of water)
- 250g macaroni pasta
- 60g grated cheese
Method
Put the bay leaves, rosemary, oregano, ground black pepper, parsley, bacon, tomatoes, tomato paste, ½ jar of pesto or tomato pasta sauce, kidney beans, onions, garlic, pumpkin, carrots, potato, water and stock into a slow cooker.
Turn the slow cooker on high and put the lid on, and cook for 3 hours and 30 minutes.
(Or you can cook Minestrone in a large saucepan for an hour)
After 3 hours and 30 minutes add in 250 grams of macaroni to the pot and continue to cook for 30 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. If you need to add a little more water, as the pasta cooks and thickens.
Check your seasoning and add salt and pepper if you need to.
Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Serve with Grissini sticks for some crunch, or with the usual fresh bread or rolls.
To reheat Minestrone you may need to add a little more water/or stock if you like, as it will thicken on standing. Don't forget that soup often tastes better the next day as the flavours have time to really develop.
Cauliflower and Leek soup
This would be a great use of a bargain cauliflower or cheap broccoli.
Ingredients
- 1 leek trimmed and sliced - oil to saute it in
- 3 generous cups of cauliflower florets (or broccoli)
- 2 ½ cups of vegetable stock
- ¾ cup of cream
- ¾ cup of grated cheese
Saute the sliced leek in a large saucepan until tender.
Add the cauliflower (or broccoli) and stock to the saucepan.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until tender.
Using a stick blender, carefully process the soup in the saucepan, until it is smooth.
Add the cream and ½ cup of cheese to the soup in the saucepan and stir.
Add a little salt or pepper to taste.
Reheat the soup gently, without boiling it.
Serve in bowls with snipped chives for a bit of colour if you have some.
Note - For a lower fat version use milk instead of cream.
Lactose free milk also works well.
May 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter
Hi,
How are you going? I hope you are having a great month. In Simple Savings land we are having a “Chuck it out Frenzy” where we are cleaning out the 'odds and sods' and 'Bonus Ingredients' that have been cluttering up the pantry. You know the ingredients I am talking about. Things 'left over from a fancy recipe', 'bought when hungry', 'too busy to use', 'not a staple cooking supply', 'don't know what to do with', 'everyone is scared to eat' or 'bought at the start of Covid'.
This month we are asking people to get together and help each other use up the 'what can I do with this?' ingredients by diving into your pantry, picking up something that has been sitting there for a while and then asking others for cooking suggestions and/or recipes.
To get the ball rolling below are some weird items from my fridge and freezer. I have also posted these items in Claire's 'Chuck it Out Frenzy' in the forum and in our Facebook group.
It is going to be a great month.
Many grins,
Fiona
PS. Our Leg Up program is where we give away a membership for every membership purchased. Click here if you would like a Leg Up Membership and here if you would like a paid membership.
Cooking suggestions, please?
Can you please help me clean out my fridge and pantry this month? It is full of really weird items that I don't know what to do with and am having trouble eating.
Before you ask, why on earth did you buy those things in the first place? It is because I love cooking and tasting weird food. The stranger it is, the more likely I am to want it. And, every birthday/Christmas/Mother's Day my kids get me the weirdest gluten-free/dairy-free food they can find.
Here are some of the things, I don't know what to do with:-
Agar Agar: It is supposed to be like gelatine. But, each time I've tried to use it the jelly never sets. I have tried following online recipes, but it has been one fail after another fail. Do you have any suggestions for Agar Agar?
Seasoned Banana Chips: Do you have any suggestions for what I can do with these? Should I blend them into a flour or put them in the kids lunches? The ingredients are: banana, oil, black pepper, kali mirch, dried mango powder, cumin, mint, ginger, coriander, asafoetida, chilli, cassava leaves, stone flower, triphala, clove, black salt, common salt. If you had these banana chips in your pantry, what would you do with them?
Buckwheat: Using up buckwheat shouldn't be hard. But, I keep looking at it, deciding it is too hard and closing the pantry door. If you had a pile of buckwheat, what would you do with it?
Chia Seeds: Chia seeds are healthy and can be really tasty. But, I can never bring myself to cook with them. If you had a container of Chia seeds what would you do with them?
Marinated Baby Figs: These should be easy to use up. But, I haven't even opened the jar. All suggestions welcome :-)
Fish Crackers: The package says they are 'tasty n crunchy', but I'm finding opening the bag and tasting them a bit difficult. What do you think they are going to taste like and do you have suggestions for eating them?
Kimchi: Is supposed to be tasty and really healthy, but what do I do with it? This has been sitting in my fridge for a year. If you had to use up a jar of Kimchi, what would you do with it?
Lime Pickle: This Lime Pickle came from the Indian grocery store. Is it a dip, a sauce, a curry ingredient? And, why do I enjoy buying up random ingredients I have never seen before?
Liquid Smoke: This is supposed to be really tasty, but it has been sitting in my fridge waiting to be used for six months. The reason I am not using it is because I'm a bit scared of it and keep forgetting it is in the fridge. Have you ever used Liquid Smoke? If so, what did you do with it? Does it taste like preservatives?
Mung Bean Seeds: This is a lot of Mung Bean seeds. Do you have any suggestions other than sprouting them? Can they be added to bolognese?
Thai Crispy Rolls: These were a birthday present from the kids. Have you ever tried them and do you have any suggestions on what to do with them?
These are the 'odds and sods' from my cupboards. What do you have in cupboard and would you like help using them up? If so, post a picture in our private forum or Facebook group where you can great suggestions and wonderful tips for using ingredients that may have ended up in landfill. And, if you have any suggestions on how I can use up some of my weird ingredients. I want to hear from you.
Competition: Best contributors, 5 x $20 prizes
This month we are going to give away five $20 prizes for the best contributors in the forum and/or Facebook. This could be people who are the most helpful, most popular post or weirdest food ingredient between now and midnight May 25th.
All winners will be announced in next month's newsletter.
Best of Facebook
Here is the best from our SS facebook group. What a great idea!
Best of the Forum
These threads are from the best of the Simple Savings forum -
If you are a single person household, you might like to join the ladies over in the Simple Savings forum. They have a great new thread called 'One-person Households chat and support.' It is over here at
In the '2021 - The $30K Club - # Easter Eggs and long weekend thread'
Katie has posted pictures of her fantastic 'Knitting for Brisbane's needy' efforts all packaged up and ready to deliver. She also shows how she 'debt busts' while volunteering. Well done Katie! And to all the other ladies on that thread who are paying down their mortgages and or investing. You are all amazing.
Here is the link /fora/4373038
NOTE: Reminder you need to be a current member and logged into the Savings Vault to read the forum. You can become a member by applying to our Leg Up program. Which is where we give away a membership for every membership purchased. Click here if you would like a Leg Up Membership and here if you would like a paid membership.
Gorgeous Emails
This month we received another fantastic email filled with tips from Margaret S to share with you.
Margaret says “other things I am frugal with”
“I cut my Christmas cards so I just have the front picture and use it as a gift tag with plenty of room on the back to give a nice Christmas message.
I knit rugs for charity, so often only small pieces of yarn are left over from another project.
I thread these together and knit them continuously to make a colourful rug.
When I use the full size oven I do a big bake up, all other times I just use the half oven.
I save all of the A4 paper that has only been printed on one side, then use this for printing drafts, or emails for my husband to read etc.
I very rarely have leftover cooked veggies as we only cook what we require for the two of us, but did the same when the family was still home.”
Sandra's 'Chuck it Out' Tips
This month we are having a chuck out frenzy. It is time to give our hardly used items a new lease of life in a different house. Most people had a pretty good clean out at some stage during COVID.
But if you have now accumulated more unused or unwanted belongings, then feel free to join in with us, to pass those unwanted things on. Or if you cleaned up and the things are still sitting there, then it's time to move them on.
I think it is important to psyche ourselves up for this challenge. We really need to take a good look at every single thing with fresh and objective eyes if we truly want to make a change.
Being honest with ourselves about - do I use this? Have I used it? Will I ever use it?
If the answer is no, then move it on and find it a better home.
Pass on items such as 'taking up space' handbags, kids toys and playground equipment you may never use, to people or friends or to your local charity shop.
I know a young lady who was absolutely thrilled to pick up a good leather handbag from an op shop. She was as pleased as anything. It was so lovely to see!
I also know of another mum of three little ones who very happily picks up second hand toys for her little boys. They were eyeing off a particular expensive brand of trampoline and managed to get the exact thing, almost brand new for free, because someone no longer wanted the hassle of cleaning leaves and things off it...so please pass things on if they are just sitting there!
Sandra's Recipes
Welcome to this month's recipe corner. Sandra has made some great recipes to turn leftovers into a tasty burger sauce and delicious muffins.
Sandra's Burger Sauce
Here's a great BURGER SAUCE recipe which will use up those sauce dribs and drabs.
And YES, we here at Simple Savings are those people who turn our bottles upside down to get the last bits out of them.
Ingredients
½ cup of Mayonnaise
¼ cup of Tomato Sauce
2 teaspoons of sweet pickle relish (or any relish)
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of white vinegar
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Method
Mix all of the ingredients well together and store in a jar in the fridge.
This sauce can be used on sandwiches or burgers.
Sandra's Savoury Muffin recipe
Ingredients
1 cup of buttermilk.
Note - You can make your own buttermilk, by pouring out 1 cup of milk into a jug and adding a dash of vinegar or lemon juice to it and stirring it and setting it aside for a few minutes.
⅓ of a cup of oil
⅓ cup of grated cheese
2 eggs
1 ½ cups of plain flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 finely chopped capsicum
½ cup of basil leaves
Salt and black pepper
Extra grated cheese.
Method
Preheat the oven to 200⁰C. Prepare a baking tray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, grated cheese and eggs.
In a separate large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder with the capsicum and basil. Mix well.
Add the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and mix until JUST combined. (Overmixed muffins will be tough!)
Spoon the mixture into paper muffins cases or into a very well greased muffin tin.
Add extra grated cheese to the tops of the muffins.
Bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Tip
Use an ice cream scoop to put equal measures of muffin mixture into the paper cases or muffin tin holes.
