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.

Online tips and tricks to stop nail biting

To prevent nail biting, let your fingers do the walking online to find some 'handy' solutions! These nail cover rings are one way -

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1pc-Finger-Nail-Art-Crystal-Fake-Nails-Decoration-Design-Ring-Jewelry-Crown/143196160954?hash=item21572803ba:m:mQfsbiR-zn8wkg769J1yrCw

Or you could even try Thai Dancers tips with a little modification -

http://www.ramthai.com/ramb007.html

http://www.ramthai.com/ramb059.html

Self cast tips would be more costly, unless you know someone in the business; or invest in a set of silicone tips if you can stop the nail biter from peeling them off!

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xsilicone+finger+protector.TRS0&_nkw=silicone+finger+protector&_sacat=0

How Simple Savings helped me to save money and lose weight

Here's how to lose weight and save!

A couple of years ago I joined Weight Watchers and went to four meetings. Joining was free from a coupon in a magazine but the meetings cost something like $15.95 each. I couldn't get motivated!

A few weeks ago, as I was bucketing the bath water into the toilet cistern to save water (a tip from Simple Savings), I realised that I am doing the exact same thing that Weight Watchers meetings could not motivate me to do. At WW the main things they encourage you to do are to eat 10% less at meals (this also helps the budget at shopping time) and to exercise more (this comes from carting water between the bath and the toilet and using the rain water tank to water the vegie patch and so on).

I am now losing about half a kilogram a week without even trying and I'm not paying $16 to do it. In fact, I'm making other savings as well - our last water bill was $40 less than that for the same time last year.

What has also happened for me in the last few months is that while saving money I have also become better at time management - planning meals for a month and shopping with a list have cut out a lot of unnecessary trips to the shops (not to mention the extra expense). I have cut $60 from my husband's spending money by supplying his lunch every day, along with some soft drink, a large bottle of water and a snack. He is happy because he still has a small amount of 'sanity money' in his pocket to splurge with every week.

My food budget absorbed this when I switched from a lot of brand name products to BI-LO brand products - I save from as little as $0.10c per item up to a couple of dollars per item. The biggest savings I make come from bulk buying - last month BI-LO had five kilograms of potatoes for $5.00, but when I went to the greengrocers they had them at $6.00 for a 20 kilo bag. These lasted for about a month and I couldn't bring myself to go to the fish and chip shop when I had 15 kilograms of 'free' potatoes in the pantry, so we had home-made wedges instead, saving another $6.00.

The excitement of saving money has also inspired me to do the things that I don't enjoy so much, such as mending and ironing, and I am gradually working my way through every room and cupboard, taking inventory of what can be used and how best to use it in a way that will save me money. I never thought I would actually look forward to going through years of accumulated junk! By organising my house, I am becoming a 'cleanie' and leaving the old 'messy' me behind - and I am enjoying every minute of it!

A simple journey to a better life

I live with my husband and 4 year old twin boys in a unit and we discovered Simple Savings at a time that was very difficult in the life of our family. I wanted to share a bit of our journey that led to saving money and an improvement of our quality of life.

When I discovered Simple Savings my husband was a self employed contractor who was in between jobs and our income became more limited as I work part time and we have many fixed expenses including a large mortgage and preschool fees.

We were feeling very stressed emotionally as well and finding daily living difficult to manage. I pored over the Savings Vault and found a wealth of information so assist us in reducing our expenses. As we were feeling quite vulnerable and finding change a struggle we picked one tip a week to research or implement and we started with the simplest first so we could experience enough success to motivate us to continue.

So the first week my husband put his razor in a small glass of olive oil (to prevent rust and make the blade last longer). Then we replaced our fabric softner with 1/4 cup of vinegar and put vinegar in a pump spray pack to clean our benches. We also used vinegar to clean our floors. As we "succeeded" we began to feel better about life as we were exercising the control we could to improve our situation and it felt creative.

We also:

Researched car/house/contents insurance for the best deal

Started to shop at Aldi regularly, knowing from other Simple Savings users which were the best value products

We found a wholesale butcher (Elvy's Wholesale Meats 2/19 Norman St, Peakhurst tel: 9153 6656)

We started cleaning our dishwasher with citric acid

We gave homemade gingerbread houses and biscuits as Christmas gifts

Our children made gift wrap (painted and glittered) from a roll of butchers paper bought for $10 at IKEA which is very personal and inexpensive.

We joined 3 different DVD clubs and got a free month from each before cancelling which gave us great free entertainment over the Christmas months.

We found websites for children's activites, and a recipe for homemade playdoh that we love and have given to other children as gifts.

We also bought $8 worth of alphabet and flower beads and bracelet elastic from The Reject Shop and made 13 name bracelets for preschool teachers and friends. My boys really knew the joy of giving something that they had helped choose and make. The recipients were joyous at the personal nature of the gift.

I now make my own bath products for our family and for gifts from the recipes and websites reccommended by Simple Savings subscribers.

We are adding to our life routine regularly and we are loving our life. This week I have taken my first week of unpaid leave from work to be with my cherubs during the school holidays and it is such a priceless and precious gift.

I really appreciate the invaluable life tools that I have gained from your website and value sharing this way of life with my children. And I encourage the overwhelmed to add one tip a week to your life...they all add up to big change.