Sock it to draughts with cheap 'door snakes'

With every winter, it's important to make our heating systems as efficient as possible. Draughts under doors (both to outside and to rooms not currently being used) let heat escape, driving heating costs up. Door snakes are often advertised at around $10 each. This means for a whole house you may be looking close to $100. Instead, you can use a pair of men's long, knee-high socks! These can be filled with rice (or sand if you have easy access to it). Either tie a knot or see the top to seal. You can purchase ind the socks at cheap shops or ok shops, use the cheapest rice you can buy and you can make a house-full for less than the price of one commercially produced door snake.

Get every last cent out of your powder foundation

I have found an easy way to use up every last bit of make-up powder foundation. You know when you have almost got to the end of your powder compact, and all that is left is the powder on the rim? It's sad to waste, but so hard to use. Not any more, however! I've discovered it can easily be removed using a small spoon or lolly stick, then transferring it into another container. From there, you can simply apply it with a brush, like a loose powder! From now on, every time I buy a new compact, the left over bits first get mixed together and used. These days I never run out in between buying my more expensive foundation. Better still, I get to use the crushed foundation powder for 'everyday' and keep the new compact for special occasions, making it last even longer!

Create a 'roundtuit' fund

I have found a great way to stop impulse buying. I turn the money I would have spent into a 'roundtuit'. A roundtuit is one of those things you always put off and say you will get 'around to it'. Have you always wanted to learn to ride a horse or treat yourself to a massage? Or buy an art print but, because of the expense, have never got around to it? Well, I now put the money I would have spent on impulse buying straight into my roundtuit fund.

Instead of buying that glossy magazine, I look at the price and I put that amount into a special pocket in my wallet. I try and jot down what I nearly bought as well. When the time comes to buy the art print I have always wanted, I can see that it was worth two magazines, a fast food lunch, a shirt on special and a home delivered pizza. I don't feel guilty because the purchase has been funded by my roundtuit fund.

I no longer waste money on stuff I don't really need and I can also see where I am most likely to waste money, which will hopefully protect me from temptation. Most importantly, I'm able to achieve my dreams, almost without realising it. It's a great way to save for what you really want, so isn't it about time you got around to it?

Weekly raffle creates a clean happy home

Our family home is always a clean and happy one, thanks to our weekly raffle! With four children aged from 12 down to two, there is always so much to get done, so we started our very own 'family raffle' as an incentive to get the chores done.

A list on the fridge displays all the categories for a raffle ticket. Some examples are - clean bedroom floor, do a load of laundry, give a music recital, finish homework by 5pm, clean the windows, play with the baby and so on. Every time a chore is completed, the child fills in a raffle ticket with their name and the task done. Then, every week at the same time, we pull out the prize winner. They receive a prize from the discount store - some kind of age appropriate toy such as a pack of cards, fancy pencils and so on, to a maximum value of $5.00. The remaining tickets are pulled out and all are given five points each. Every child who has reached 20 points during the week also receives $5.00. We get so much housework completed this way! We deposit the money in the children's bank accounts online and they are encouraged to save it, or can spend it on something special. This really helps when they need to buy a birthday gift for their friends and can even pay for their own outings and movie tickets. I read every chore they complete out loud and the pride in their faces is worth every cent!