Dishwashing liquid breaks down hard to remove stains

I have found a cheap and effective solution for tough laundry stain removal! Stains such as fats or body odours can be notoriously hard to remove. Normal washing powders may be made for getting out dirt and stains but not for breaking down fats and body fluids. To combat the problem, I simply add a squirt of dishwashing liquid to the wash, along with my normal powder and soaker and it works like a charm. After all, it breaks down grease and fatty food residue when doing dishes, it makes sense for it to work on clothes too!

My uni studies STOPPED me biting my nails!

I've been enjoying long, beautiful nails for 30 years, thanks to a method called behaviour modification! I was required to do it as part of a psychology unit at university. It is a method which rewards good behaviour and punishes bad behaviour. This is the method:

1. You determine what you want to change: I want to stop biting my fingernails.
2. You determine what would be a good reward. I will give myself $1.00 coin.
3. You determine what would be a good punishment. I will give $2.00 to charity. Note: It is best that the punishment is worse than the reward, so you can obviously achieve your positive goal ASAP. The simpler your rewards and punishments are, the better. I used the money to purchase a scarf but you could do it for anything.
4. You work out what you need to motivate yourself to achieve that positive outcome. I used hand cream daily, I used oil to massage the cuticles daily, I painted my nails with nail hardener and once the nails grew past my fingers, I got manicures regularly.
5. Draw up a table as shown below, to keep track of your progress daily to get to your eventual goal:

Day 1 – Outcome: I put my fingers in my mouth So you put a cross in the negative box and take the punishment. Negative Positive Punishment Reward x $2.00 paid to charity

Day 2 – Outcome: I didn’t put my fingers in my mouth So you put a cross in the positive box and take the reward Negative Positive Punishment Reward x $1.00 paid to myself

From memory I stopped biting my nails after the second week and kept going until I grew my nails to the length I wanted them. I found that it took about 10 weeks to achieve the outcome I wanted. I didn’t think I would get long fingernails, but I did and continue to do so!

A dollar a day keeps money struggles away

Saving $1.00 a day has helped me afford things I would have otherwise struggled to pay for. I started doing this when my sons started at a private school in the city. They would be invited to several birthday parties throughout the year, so to ease the financial burden of gift giving I used my money box. At the end of the year I would use whatever was left to buy school supplies for the following year.

My children have left school now but I still save my $1.00 a day which I use to treat myself to a pedicure, go to a movie or have coffee with friends. It's such a small amount each day that I find it doesn't really affect my household budget, but it always came to my rescue when I needed it, and now affords me my treats.

Shop first, menu plan later

I have discovered that reversing my old way of shopping is much easier on my pension! Previously I always used to menu plan first, then go to the shops and walk up and down the aisles getting the things on my list (plus plenty that wasn't)! However once we retired I soon realised this was no longer working. I was spending more than we could afford at the supermarket and greengrocer. I needed to find a better way - and I found one!

These days, I do my menu planning and shopping the other way round. I go to the supermarket once a week and buy whatever is marked down. For example, this week I found Wagyu sausages down from $6.95 to $3 for six. That's enough to make three meals for the two of us! I also bought 4kg of chicken breasts marked down to $5.99 a kilo. I can mince some for lasagne, chop some for curries, cut strips for sate or just poach some for sandwiches. Either way I will get at least at least 20 meals for the $45 I spent!

The same goes for the greengrocer. Instead of planning what I was going to buy in advance I now only buy what he has outside in boxes on special. I pick out the best deals, then come home and menu plan around what I have bought. I am finding this so much better on the wallet and would encourage anyone to give it a go!