Berry nice savings to be had on blueberries!

I have found the answer to enjoying the health benefits of blueberries is in the freezer aisle! Blueberries are so good for you, but very expensive if you buy the punnets of fresh fruit. The regular price of fresh ones works out at well over $30 per kilo and while they look nice on a fruit platter, they don't have a lot of flavour. Instead, I now buy frozen blueberries at around $4 or $5 per 500g pack - less than a third the price! Simply throw a cupful in the microwave with a teaspoon of sugar and zap for a minute or two. Much tastier and are delicious with ice cream, natural yoghurt or just on their own!

Lock in fuel savings and make them last!

Our household has found a super easy way to make the most of cheap fuel prices. We watch the fuel cycles with the ACCC petrol price cycles website (https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/petrol-diesel-lpg/petrol-price-cycles). When it is getting to the lowest point of the cycle, as well as our vehicle, we also fill up five 20 litre fuel containers. If it is inconvenient to do so, we prepay and lock in the fuel price on both of our phones on the 7/11 app. This guarantees that locked price for seven days. We then use that fuel through the next 3-4 weeks (the length of the fuel cycle generally). It's like having our own petrol station at home!

Fuel containers cost around $20-$25 at BCF and the savings per cycle paid for each container. Now it's pure savings of $30 per cycle. Petrol works out around $520 per year less for us, for very little effort! At first, my husband was concerned that the fuel may not last (he is a qualified mechanic), but I showed him some tests BP had done on this matter, finding that six months later, the values were still the same. We notice zero difference in fuel consumption, km/L, or parts wearing out any faster.

Everyone we tell thinks this is an amazing idea, we find it strange that no one else seems to have thought of it!

Homemade cake mix

We all know how convenient it is to grab a packet of cake mix off the supermarket shelf, but you can save a lot of money by making your own. This recipe is really easy to make and you can store it in the fridge for up to three months or for longer in the freezer.

Ingredients:

250g self raising flour
185g caster sugar
2tbsp milk powder, skimmed or full cream
125g butter

Method:

Sift or process all dry ingredients until combined, and then rub in or process the butter.

To make the cake add:

2 eggs
1tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup water

When these ingredients have been added to the cake mix, beat the whole lot until combined. Bake at 150C - 180C for 30 minutes if making one cake, or 20 minutes for smaller cakes. For variety, add coffee, cocoa or anything else you like. This is as good as shop bought cake mixes and half the price!

20 kids' party gifts for $30

When my daughter started school last year, she had birthday after birthday to attend, which meant present after present. Last year, each present cost $25 to $35 and I couldn't afford to pay that much this year. So, I planned ahead!

Before every school year starts, Big W has a huge stationery sale, where I purchased the following:

• 100 writing books at just $0.01c each, total cost of $1.00
• 20 packs of 24 colouring pencils at $0.49c each, total cost of $9.80
• 10 twin packs of safety scissors at $0.49c each, total cost of $4.90
• Five eraser 4-packs at $0.99c each, total cost of $4.95
  - Five pencil sharpener 4-packs at $0.29c each, total cost of $1.45
  - Two 10-page sticker booklets with 150 stickers per page at $2.00 each, total cost of $4.00
  - Four sheets of contact paper in girl and boy themes at $0.99c each, total cost of $4.00.

Total for all this is just $30.10, and I'm able to make 20 presents! That's just over $1.50 per gift! At every birthday party, my daughter has presented the birthday girl or boy with the following gift:

• Three books covered in contact paper
• One pack of colouring pencils
• One pair of safety scissors
• One eraser
• One sharpener
• One page of stickers.

Both parents and children have loved this present because, unlike a toy they soon lose interest in, they can continue to use their imagination to create drawings.